Even when long established as a grand slam champion and a conqueror of all surfaces, Elena Rybakina was always considered lesser than the most successful players of her era. She was one of the most devastating shotmakers in the world, a threat to everybody everywhere, but there were always a couple of more consistent and mentally tougher players above her. She leaves New York, finally, as the undisputed best tennis player on the planet, the new standard bearer of women’s tennis, after following up her snatching of the No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka by succeeding her as the US Open champion.
As she has done throughout this unforgettable week, the Kazakhstani showed her toughness in another spectacular tussle with her great rival, closing out her time at Flushing Meadows with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Sabalenka, the top seed and two-time defending champion. Before the final, Rybakina had not really played her best tennis this year in New York, but the whole title run stands as the greatest mental performance of her career. She has had to overcome an achilles injury that sidelined her for a week before the tournament and left her uncertain if she would even compete.
There was also the potentially suffocating pressure of trying to clinch the world No 1 ranking while being reminded of the exact results required of her to do so. She faced four consecutive grand slam or Olympic champions in the second week of the tournament. She cleared every hurdle without hesitation.
Her trials throughout the past two weeks imbued her with the confidence to play such an assured match against her biggest rival to close out the week. Here, the 27-year-old began the match with her serve, the most important shot in her arsenal, completely misfiring, yet she still showed off the breadth of her game by completely dominating an increasingly dishevelled Sabalenka off the ground. When the Belarusian fought her way back into the match, overturning the momentum and forcing a final set, Rybakina immediately reset, saving her best tennis for the most important stretch.
In addition to taking Sabalenka’s No 1 ranking, Rybakina has now also taken her status as the best hard-court player in the world. She now holds the three biggest hard-court titles: the Australian Open, the US Open and the WTA Finals. She joins figures such as Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Ash Barty, Angelique Kerber and Virginia Wade as three-time grand slam champions.
Having previously won Wimbledon in 2022 and the 2026 Australian Open, Rybakina is suddenly a French Open away from completing the career grand slam. This was a historic encounter, just the second time in the 38-year history of the Australian Open and US Open both being played on hard courts that the same two rivals had competed in both finals, and a rare tussle between the top two players in the world with the ranking certain to switch hands. No matter the terrain or stakes, these two players just seem to force the highest level of tennis from each other.
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