Elena Rybakina: US Open Champion and New World No. 1

Elena Rybakina stood on the Arthur Ashe Stadium baseline on Saturday night with the weight of a new world No. 1 ranking on her shoulders and Aryna Sabalenka thundering returns at her. She walked away a US Open champion.

The 27-year-old Kazakhstani completed a landmark fortnight in New York with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Sabalenka, adding a first US Open crown to her Wimbledon title from 2022 and this year’s Australian Open. Three Grand Slams. Three different surfaces. One increasingly dominant force in the women’s game.

A No. 1 who plays like it

Rybakina arrived at Flushing Meadows having just overtaken Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings. That status can feel like a target on a player’s back. In her case, it looked more like armour.

Her previous best in New York was a modest fourth round. That statistic now feels almost absurd. Over two weeks she dismantled the draw and, in the final, the player she had just replaced as the sport’s benchmark.

Sabalenka, with her ferocious power and emotional intensity, dragged the match into deep waters. Rybakina swam there more comfortably. She took the first set 6-4 with that familiar, flat, skidding baseline game and a serve that rarely wavered under pressure.

Then came the twist.

Serving late in the second set, Rybakina faltered. Sabalenka pounced, broke, and stole the set 7-5. The stadium noise surged. Momentum, that fickle thing, swung hard towards the Belarusian.

For many players, that would have left a scar. For Rybakina, it became a reset button.

The champion’s response

What happened at the start of the third set is what separates title contenders from serial champions.

Rybakina stepped back on court as if the end of the second set had never happened. She tightened her patterns, went after Sabalenka’s second serve and started dictating with ruthless clarity. The rallies shortened. The doubt vanished.

The pressure finally told.

Sabalenka’s service games, so often a foundation, turned into minefields. Rybakina attacked the return with fearless precision, pinning her opponent back and forcing errors. The final set raced away from the Belarusian as Rybakina surged to 6-2, sealing the title with the cool efficiency that has become her calling card.

From the outside, it looked icy. Inside, it was steel.

Bartoli’s verdict: “Absolutely extraordinary”

One former Wimbledon champion knows exactly what it takes to handle that stage. Watching on, Marion Bartoli could hardly hide her admiration.

“Can you imagine that her previous best result here was the fourth round?” Bartoli said, speaking to Sky Sports Tennis. “That’s extraordinary, to come here with all the pressure of the world, knowing she had the No. 1 world ranking on her racket, to actually go on and win the title.

“The way she bounced back at the beginning of the third set tonight for me, was absolutely extraordinary.

“It looked like she completely forgot what happened at the back end of that second set, when she got caught on her own service game.

“She just kept on moving on, and moving forward all the time. The way she attacked Sabalenka’s serve all the time, putting her under so much pressure.

“The ball-striking from that young lady is just something else. She can do anything on the tennis court. She’s only missing Roland Garros now from completing a career Grand Slam.”

It is rare praise, and it matches what the numbers say. Three major titles in barely more than two seasons. A game built for every surface. A temperament seemingly built for every storm.

History made in New York

Rybakina’s run in New York did more than fill another line on her résumé. It carved out a slice of Open Era history.

She became the first woman in the Open Era to win the US Open by taking three-set victories in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. In a sport where best-of-three can be unforgiving, she repeatedly walked the tightrope and never once lost her balance.

That sequence is a brutal test of both body and mind. It underlined what the tour has learned the hard way over the past two years: Rybakina is one of the fittest, toughest competitors in the WTA, and she doesn’t blink when the match stretches into a third set and the tension bites.

From the outside, her expression barely changes. The scoreline does.

One piece missing

With Wimbledon, the Australian Open and now the US Open in her hands, the picture is suddenly clear. Rybakina stands one trophy away from a career Grand Slam. Only Roland Garros remains.

Clay has not yet yielded the same rewards, but the trajectory is obvious. Her serve, her weight of shot, her growing tactical maturity – they all translate. The question is not whether her game can adapt to Paris, but when.

For now, there will finally be a pause. After a summer that ended with a US Open title, a world No. 1 ranking and a slice of history, Rybakina has earned a stretch of quiet away from the tour.

Rest, then. Because when she comes back, every major draw will be built around one reality: Elena Rybakina is no longer just part of the conversation. She is the standard everyone else has to chase.