No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time and also secured the No. 1 world ranking by rallying for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over China’s Qinwen Zheng on Wednesday in New York.
Rybakina won 80% (32 of 40) of her first-serve points in a solid effort against Zheng, who saved 10 of 13 break points to keep pressure on Rybakina at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Rybakina, 27, replaces top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus as the top-ranked player in the world.
“It’s just a number right now and, of course, I’m in the semis, so my goal is to win the tournaments which I play,” Rybakina said.
The Moscow-born Rybakina represents Kazakhstan and she is a semifinalist in the U.S. Open for the first time. The two-time Grand Slam champion had previously never advanced past the fourth round.
She struggled in the first set and found herself down in the match when Zheng won the final three games.
But Rybakina dominated the second set, winning the first three games. After Zheng won the fourth game, Rybakina won three more in a row to level the match.
Zheng led 4-3 in the third set before Rybakina swept the final three games. The key game was the ninth when Rybakina broke Zheng’s service to take the lead and eventually seal the match.
“It’s been a very difficult match,” said Rybakina, who had a 20-18 edge in winners. “Honestly, a lot of nerves, of course. Maybe it wasn’t the highest level but I’m glad that I pushed through. It’s an early match and in my head I was complaining a little bit about the sun, the shadow, a lot of little things. It was definitely a battle inside me but I’m glad that I pushed all the negative thoughts away and I kept on fighting.”
Being No. 1 in the world was just sinking in to Rybakina. Sabalenka had been atop the rankings for the previous 99 weeks.
“I go just (one) match at a time and it’s an amazing achievement,” Rybakina said of being No. 1. “But you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking wise, during the match. So I feel I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”
Rybakina will face either No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia in Thursday’s semifinal match. They began their quarterfinal match shortly after Rybakina beat Zheng.
Sabalenka will meet No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
–Field Level Media
