Elena Rybakina won the US Open for the first time by defeating defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in a tense final in New York.
The victory completes a remarkable rise for the Kazakh, who had already secured the world No 1 ranking during the tournament. It also gives her a third Grand Slam title and leaves her one major short of completing a career Grand Slam, having previously won in Melbourne and at Wimbledon.
Rybakina is the third woman this century to win both hard-court Grand Slam tournaments in the same season. Sabalenka, meanwhile, missed the chance to become only the third woman in the Open era to win the US Open three years in succession.
Sabalenka struggled to contain her frustration from the opening games, while Rybakina maintained a notably composed presence. The Belarusian produced 15 unforced errors in the first set, compared with only five from her opponent.
A double fault handed Rybakina the decisive break in the opener, after which Sabalenka was warned for hitting a ball away. Her search for immediate winners continued to produce mistakes, allowing Rybakina to take control without needing her strongest serving performance.
Rybakina landed only 27 per cent of her first serves in the opening set, but her second serve remained accurate enough to trouble Sabalenka. She also repeatedly extended her opponent’s service games, finally converting her fifth break point for a 3-2 lead.
Sabalenka returned to the second set with greater accuracy and a calmer approach. Rybakina held firm for long periods, including an important tenth game in which she saved her opponent’s first break point, but Sabalenka eventually found the improvement required to level the match.
Rybakina seizes control in deciding set
The momentum did not carry into the decider. Rybakina immediately applied pressure to Sabalenka’s serve, forcing three visits to deuce before the champion held, while the Kazakh moved through her own service game with ease.
Sabalenka’s frustration boiled over when she smashed her racquet into the court after a sequence of Rybakina forehand winners. The break that followed proved more damaging than any further warning, and Rybakina moved 4-2 ahead.
Another double fault gave Rybakina a break point in the seventh game. Sabalenka dropped to her knees and rested her head against her racquet, but further errors allowed her opponent to break again.
Rybakina then served out the championship with an ace. Sabalenka was left in tears afterwards and vowed to “do better” next year, while Rybakina claimed the trophy and added a US Open title to her growing Grand Slam collection.
