Sabalenka and Rybakina battle for the 2026 US Open women's title in New York

Tennis

Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, venue of the 2026 US Open women's singles final

Redacția RoAdevăr

Source: WTA / US Open

Sport / Tennis

Statele Unite

September 12, 2026, 6:05 PM

54 Views

0 Comments

The 2026 US Open reaches one of its defining moments on Saturday with the women's singles championship match.

Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina meet at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the final Grand Slam title of the season.

The championship match brings together two established Grand Slam champions and two of the most powerful players on the women's tour.

At the time of publication, the official US Open schedule listed the women's final on Arthur Ashe Stadium as “not before” 4:00 p.m. New York time, following the men's doubles final in the afternoon session.

Two Grand Slam champions

Aryna Sabalenka (28, Belarus) is ranked WTA No. 1 and arrives as the two-time defending Flushing Meadows champion (2024 and 2025). She owns four Grand Slam singles titles: the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, and the US Open in 2024 and 2025. In 2026 she has won Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami — completing the Sunshine Double — and reached the Australian Open final (lost to Rybakina). According to the WTA record, her other 2026 major results include a Roland Garros quarterfinal and a Wimbledon fourth round.

Elena Rybakina (27, Kazakhstan) is ranked WTA No. 2 and, regardless of Saturday's result, takes over World No. 1 on Monday after Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top. She has two Grand Slam titles: Wimbledon 2022 and the 2026 Australian Open. In 2026 she has also won Stuttgart and reached finals in Indian Wells and Toronto. This is her first US Open final and her fourth major final overall.

Road to the final — Aryna Sabalenka

According to the official WTA/US Open path:

R1: Camila Osorio — 6-2, 6-4
R2: Polina Iatcenko (Q) — 6-1, 6-1
R3: Kamilla Rakhimova — 6-3, 6-4
R4: Taylor Townsend — 6-4, 6-3
QF: Linda Noskova [6] — 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7)
SF: Jessica Pegula [3] — 7-5, 6-2

It is Sabalenka's fourth consecutive US Open final. A win would be her 20th consecutive victory at the tournament.

Road to the final — Elena Rybakina

R1: Thea Frodin (WC) — 6-3, 6-2
R2: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro — 6-2, 6-4
R3: Yuliia Starodubtseva — 7-6(6), 6-3
R4: Naomi Osaka [13] — 6-1, 6-4
QF: Zheng Qinwen (Q) — 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
SF: Coco Gauff [4] — 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Rybakina won her first four rounds without dropping a set, then came from behind in both the quarterfinal and the semifinal.

Head-to-head

According to the WTA, they meet for the 18th time on tour, with Sabalenka leading 10–7.

In Grand Slam finals they have split two Australian Open title matches: Sabalenka in 2023 and Rybakina in 2026. This is their third major final. Earlier in 2026, Sabalenka beat Rybakina in the Miami semifinals after also defeating her at Indian Wells on the way to the Sunshine Double.

Keys to the final

Serve and first-strike tennis are likely to matter. Rybakina is known for winning free points behind the first serve; Sabalenka pairs a powerful serve with aggressive baseline hitting.

Confirmed tournament and WTA preview figures: Sabalenka holds the best winners-to-unforced-errors differential at the majors in New York (+141), and struck 29 winners to Pegula's 12 in the semifinal. Since last year's US Open, Rybakina owns the best win rate against Top 10 opponents (75%, 18–6).

Those numbers describe form — they are not a prediction of the winner.

Title at stake

For Sabalenka, victory would mean a fifth Grand Slam title and a third straight US Open — the first woman to three-peat at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams (2012–14). It would also take her to five majors, a total linked in reporting to names such as Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis.

For Rybakina, victory would mean a third Grand Slam and a first US Open title. The WTA notes she could become the first player since Justine Henin in 2007 to beat past women's singles champions in both the semifinal and the final at the US Open.

Prize money announced by the WTA: $5.5 million for the champion and $2.8 million for the runner-up. In the Race to the WTA Finals, the winner moves to No. 1 and the runner-up to No. 2. World No. 1 in the PIF WTA Rankings goes to Rybakina on Monday either way.