Kazakhstan’s star tennis player Elena Rybakina has reached the women’s singles final of the US Open 2026. World number-1 Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff of USA 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a thrilling three-set match. In the high-voltage semi-finals played at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday (September 11), fourth seed Gauff took the lead in the beginning, but Rybakina won the next two sets and won the match.
Coco Gauff started the match in a very aggressive manner and maintained constant pressure on Elena Rybakina. The American player won the first set 6-3. After this, Rybakina changed her strategy and started making a comeback by improving her baseline game along with her service.
There was a tough competition between the two players in the second set, but Elena Rybakina maintained her composure at important moments. He leveled the match by winning the set 6-4. Even in the third set, he maintained his rhythm and won 6-4 and got the ticket to the final.
Rybakina in US Open final for the first time
This victory is also special for Elena Rybakina because before this she could not go beyond the fourth round of the US Open. This time he has given the best performance of his career in New York and has directly made it to the finals. In her journey to the semi-finals, Rybakina had also defeated two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. Apart from this, he had to struggle for three sets against Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals. This is his second consecutive victory against Gauff. Earlier, she had also defeated Gauff in the Toronto semi-finals last month after trailing by one set.
Elena Rybakina will face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semi-final and reached the US Open final for the fourth consecutive time. If seen, the world number-1 and number-2 players will be face to face in the final. By reaching the semi-finals, Rybakina has already achieved the number-1 position in the world rankings, while Sabalenka will fight for the title against the player occupying that top position.