Rybakina wins the title and denies Sabalenka a third consecutive victory

Rybakina had secured the top spot from Sabalenka by reaching the semi-finals in New York. She claimed her second major title this year after the Australian Open last January—also against Sabalenka—and the third in her professional career after Wimbledon 2022.

Amazing feeling

Rybakina became only the second player to defeat the world number one in two major finals during the same year.

Germany's Steffi Graf was the first to achieve this feat in 1995.

Rybakina said: "It's an amazing feeling. It's still very hard to process what happened. So many achievements over the past few weeks. I am very happy and proud of all the work we have done. It's truly wonderful."

In contrast, Sabalenka told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, her voice clearly emotional: "I wish I had performed a little better, but I think that will be for next year."

She was seeking to become only the third player, after Americans Chris Evert and Serena Williams, to win three consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows.

Rybakina appeared completely in control in the first set, not committing a single unforced error until the seventh game. She broke her opponent's serve early and led 3-2 after a double fault from the Belarusian, who was unable to overcome the deficit.

However, the player who will sit at the top of the world rankings on Monday committed more errors in the second set (13 compared to 8). Although she had two break-point opportunities early on, Sabalenka, who had achieved 20 consecutive victories at Flushing Meadows, excelled in terms of winners.

The Belarusian's aggressive style paid off as she bravely regained her balance, managing to break Rybakina's serve for the first time in the final game to force a third set.

She was better than me today

But Rybakina, known for her composure and confidence and who had never lost a match in New York after winning the first set (13 victories before the final), returned strongly, capitalizing on her opponent's numerous errors (12 errors) to break her serve twice, before clinching the title with an ace—her twelfth in the match—after two hours and 21 minutes.

A frustrated Sabalenka exchanged a quick hug with the winner at the net before smashing her racket while sitting on her bench courtside, while Rybakina enjoyed the crowd's cheers.

Rybakina said: "I feel the match was very close. Even in the first set, I got an early break. After that, it became a little easier for me to move forward on the court and play an aggressive style."

She added, "In the second, we were both holding serve. But she played more aggressively in the same important moments. I had a few small chances. I made a few mistakes. But in the third set, I told myself that I could still win. I had to focus on my serve and take a few more risks when the opportunity arose."

Rybakina played three out of her four Grand Slam finals against the Belarusian, achieving two victories against one defeat at the 2023 Australian Open.

This victory, her eighth in 18 encounters between the two players, also cements her position as Sabalenka's most prominent rival on the world stage.

Rybakina, born in Moscow and representing Kazakhstan since 2018, became the third player in the 21st century to win both the Australian Open and the US Open in the same year, after Germany's Angelique Kerber in 2016 and Sabalenka in 2024.

In contrast, Sabalenka (28) will end 2026 without any major title since 2022.

She said: "Obviously, I am not happy with the level I presented today. But she served amazingly. She played aggressively and produced great tennis. She was simply the better player than me today."

This defeat represents another disappointment for the Minsk native in Grand Slam finals, as she has previously won four major titles against five final match losses.

A year before her loss to Rybakina in the Melbourne final, she also fell unexpectedly in the Australian Open final to American Madison Keys, before collapsing four months later against another American, Coco Gauff, at Roland Garros, committing at least 70 unforced errors that day.

Gauff had also defeated her in the 2023 New York final.