Elena Rybakina produced a composed, high-class performance to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open women’s singles final, winning her third Grand Slam title and her second of 2026.
The 27-year-old will replace Sabalenka as world No. 1 on Monday after a fortnight that also included her first run beyond the fourth round in New York.
She added the Flushing Meadows crown to January’s Australian Open title, also won against Sabalenka and her 2022 Wimbledon championship.
Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion and top seed, lost a singles match at the US Open for the first time since the 2023 final. She had taken a Slam title in each of the previous three years; 2026 will be the first without one.
Rybakina seized the opening set, then recovered immediately after dropping a tight second. In the decider she broke twice, grew in authority from the baseline, and closed the match with an ace.
Rybakina’s campaign was not guaranteed. She aggravated a left ankle injury in Cincinnati a week before the Open and had never previously gone deep at this event. By the closing stages of the final she was striking the ball with the same authority that has defined her best weeks.
On court after the match she spoke with dignitaries including former champion Maria Sharapova while the presentation was prepared. Sabalenka sat with her team in quiet disappointment.
The result completes a notable 2026 for Rybakina: two majors, a first US Open title, and the top ranking. For Sabalenka it ends a three-year streak of Slam success and her New York reign.
