Elena Rybakina came from a set down to defeat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals of the U.S. Open on Thursday, giving her a chance to win her second Grand Slam title of 2026.
The Australian Open champion in January, Rybakina will face two-time defending U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the singles final on Saturday in New York. Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 earlier Thursday to advance.
On Thursday, it looked as if Gauff would coast to a semifinal win. She outplayed Rybakina in the first set, hitting four aces and winning 76% of her service points, compared to 60% for the Kazakhstani. Gauff had eight winners and seven unforced errors, compared to seven and 18, respectively, for Rybakina.
The second set was vastly different, however, as Gauff’s forehand and serve turned unreliable. Her unforced errors ballooned to 14, and she had three double faults.
Thanks to a service break, Rybakina took a 4-1 lead, but Gauff charged back. She won a break of her own and seemed to have all the momentum as the score evened at 4-4.
But Rybakina held Gauff without a point as she served to take a 5-4 lead, then broke Gauff to capture the set.
In the third set, the players stayed on serve until Rybakina broke Gauff’s serve to go up 5-3. On the verge of elimination, Gauff got the break back to move the set to 5-4.
But Rybakina attacked Gauff’s serve early to put the fourth-seeded American down 40-15, then won when Gauff misplayed an overhead shot to end the match.
“Coco is a great player. It’s always tough to play against her. Even if sometimes her first serve doesn’t go, the second one is so heavy that it’s difficult to dictate the rallies,” Rybakina said after the match. “I just took a deep breath, you know, was trying to talk positive with myself and just told myself that I need to fight and try to show good tennis.”
It will be the fourth consecutive U.S. Open final for the top-seeded Sabalenka, of Belarus. Gauff beat her in three sets in 2023 to win the trophy, and Sabalenka responded with two consecutive titles.
While Sabalenka is seeded No. 1 in New York and Rybakina is No. 2, Rybakina will overtake Sabalenka as world No. 1 when the new rankings come out on Monday.
“She’s an unbelievable player and she was playing really well today,” Rybakina said about the prospect of facing Sabalenka in the final. “I feel like I definitely need to step my game up, serve much better … than today and stay aggressive, go for the shots.”
Sabalenka is on a quest for her fifth career singles major championship and her first of 2026. Rybakina defeated Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the Australian Open in January.
“I was so desperate to win,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview after her match with Pegula. “I wanted it badly, and I was just trying to focus on myself.”
She also thanked the crowd in New York for its support, even though she knew they were pulling for the American Pegula.
“I’m super happy that I was able to play such tennis in front of you all,” she said. “Thank you, thank you for the atmosphere. … You’re the best. Your respect to me is priceless, and I really appreciate you. I know that you wanted her to win — it’s obvious — but thank you for being so respectful to me.”
Sabalenka and Pegula went stride for stride for most of the first set. Sabalenka had a break opportunity with Pegula serving in the fourth game but couldn’t capitalize. Same for Pegula in the ninth game, when the often feisty Sabalenka started showing her frustration but pulled out the game nonetheless.
Up 6-5 with Pegula serving to send the first set to a tiebreaker, Sabalenka calmed her emotions and found another gear, winning three quick points to take a 40-0 lead. With triple break and set points in her pocket, Sabalenka allowed Pegula just one more point before closing out the set.
In the first game of the second set, Pegula’s disappointment showed and Sabalenka’s confidence rose.
As evenly played as the first set was, Sabalenka dominated the second. She attacked at the net, winning 80% of the points, and took 73% of her service points, compared to 52% for Pegula.
Pegula has now been eliminated during the final four at the U.S. Open in her native New York in three consecutive years. She lost in the final in 2024 and the semifinals last season.
The No. 3 seed, Pegula has yet to win a major singles title.
–Field Level Media
