Elena Rybakina silenced Coco Gauff and the New York crowd to set up a blockbuster US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka who defeated Jessica Pegula to move a win away from her third straight title at Flushing Meadows. Rybakina battled back to upset home favourite Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 in a fierce semi-final showdown to secure a title showdown with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and stay on course for a third Grand Slam crown. Sabalenka had beaten Gauff's American compatriot Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 earlier in the night to close in on a rare three-peat in New York.
"Of course there were nerves," admitted Rybakina in her on-court interview. It's always tough to play her. Even if sometimes her first serve doesn't go the second one is so heavy it's difficult to dictate the rallies.
I took a deep breath, tried to talk positive with myself and just told myself I need to fight and try to show good tennis." Gauff absorbed relentless pressure but stayed strong to draw errors from the Kazakh, breaking in the sixth game and taking the opening set in front of a passionate crowd that included former first lady Michelle Obama. Rybakina capitalised on some sloppy play by the fourth-seeded American in the second set to level the match. Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, gained control with her power and broke to go 5-3 ahead in the decider.
Gauff hit back with a break of her own but her comeback bid faltered when she could not hold serve, as Rybakina broke to close out the win. "It was such a close third set. I feel like I got a bit lucky on her serve," added Rybakina, the 27-year-old former Wimbledon champion.
"Couple of deep returns, one mistake from her, it went quickly my way. I know you guys wanted Coco to win. I think it was really a battle.
A few moments went my way. In the end I was just trying to be focus and stay aggressive and somehow won the match." Top seed Sabalenka relied on her usual power to chip away at Pegula, sending over 29 winners and seven aces before closing it out with an unreturnable shot deep in the American's territory. Third-seeded Pegula, runner-up in 2024, started the match with a poised performance but eventually succumbed to the Belarusian's power, as a bevy of costly mistakes in the second set undermined her best efforts.
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