Elena Rybakina walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday already assured of the world No. 1 ranking, having done that job earlier in the fortnight. What was left was the title of the woman she was replacing at the top.

She took that too. The Kazakh’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final ended the Belarusian’s bid for a third straight title in New York and closed out a two-hour, 21-minute contest with 12 aces from the champion.

Rybakina had opened the tournament fighting off an ankle problem that at one point threatened her entry. Her first serve was still not clicking in the opening set, landing at 27 per cent, and she took it anyway. Sabalenka forced a decider by winning the second 7-5, before Rybakina broke twice in the third and closed it out with the loss of two games.

Sabalenka’s Flushing Meadows run ends at 20

The defeat snapped Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at the US Open. She had won the title in 2024 and 2025 and was chasing a third straight.

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Sabalenka struggled to compose herself at the trophy presentation.

“It’s the last thing I want to do right now, give a speech,” she said. “I’m disappointed, but I want to congratulate Elena.”

Rybakina takes home $5.5 million for the fortnight from a record $108 million prize pool. Sabalenka’s runner-up cheque was $2.8 million.

Third straight final win over Sabalenka

The New York final was the pair’s third meeting in a title match at a big event in less than a year. Rybakina beat Sabalenka to win the WTA Finals in the autumn of 2025, then again to lift the Australian Open trophy in January, and now on hard courts in New York. The Belarusian still leads their overall head-to-head 10-8, but only just.

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Rybakina joins Angelique Kerber (2016) and Sabalenka (2024) as the only players since 2000 to win the Australian Open and US Open in the same season. She is also the first player to beat a defending US Open champion in the final since Serena Williams beat Venus Williams in 2002.

“It’s tough to find the words right now,” Rybakina said.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect like this coming from this tournament.”

Wimbledon 2022 was her only previous major. She now has three, and only Roland Garros stands between her and a career Grand Slam.

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