The US Open women's final
Elena Rybakina defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the 2026 US Open women's singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 12, claiming her third career Grand Slam title (after 2022 Wimbledon and this year's Australian Open) and ascending to world No. 1, ending Sabalenka's 99-week reign atop the rankings and snapping her 19-20 match win streak at Flushing Meadows. The Kazakh player, who had feared she might not compete after an ankle injury forced her out of the Cincinnati tune-up event just three weeks earlier, won the first set in 44 minutes despite completing only 27% of first serves, lost the second 5-7 as Sabalenka rallied, then surged to a 5-2 lead in the decider and closed it out with an ace. Rybakina earned a reported $5.5 million prize -- the largest in Grand Slam history -- and denied Sabalenka the chance to join Serena Williams and Chris Evert as the only women to win three consecutive US Open titles.
Follow this story on the globe
As it ran
13 September 2026
- New world No. 1 Elena Rybakina wins maiden US Open title in three-set thriller CNN
- Rybakina reigns supreme to dethrone Sabalenka in US Open women’s final Al Jazeera
- Elena Rybakina defeats Aryna Sabalenka to win the 2026 US Open title Fox News
- Rybakina defeats Sabalenka to capture her first career US Open championship Fox News
- From injury fears to triumph, ‘everything aligned’ at US Open, Rybakina says South China Morning Post