Elena Rybakina won her first US Open title in her career and affirmed her top position in the women's tennis world with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the early morning of September 13 (Vietnam time).
Rybakina was already certain to usurp Sabalenka's world No. 1 position in the rankings next week, and she further consolidated that position by winning the US Open – a tournament that Sabalenka had won in the previous 2 years.
Honestly, at this time I can hardly utter a word," Rybakina shared, "I never thought about this prospect when entering the tournament. I had a minor injury, but somehow, everything went so smoothly and favorably for me.
This is Rybakina's third Grand Slam title in her career and the second this year – 2 wins both against Sabalenka on hard courts (previously the Australian Open).
This time, she stopped Sabalenka's 19-match winning streak at the US Open, which lasted from the defeat to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final.
The 28-year-old player finished the year without a Grand Slam for the first time since 2022.
I really feel like I'm at home playing here and look forward to returning next year," Sabalenka said, "I wish I could play a little better, but maybe I'll have to postpone it until next year.
Rybakina received a prize of 5.5 million USD – the highest prize in Grand Slam history – and equaled the achievement of winning 3 titles in the season with Sabalenka and Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva.
Sabalenka received a bonus of 2.8 million USD, but clearly this number did not mean much to her; she smashed her racket right after a short hug with Rybakina at the net.
Sabalenka strives to become the first player since Serena Williams (period 2012-2014) to win 3 consecutive championships at Flushing Meadows.
Rybakina overthrew the defending champion even though she was not in top form. This WTA's leading direct serve winner only successfully served less than half of her first serves, but in return, she continuously put pressure on Sabalenka thanks to her excellent returning ability, creating 12 breaks and successfully taking advantage of 3 times – that was more than enough to win.
This is the third time since 2000, the US Open women's singles final has witnessed a confrontation between world No. 1 and No. 2 players and is the first time the victory belongs to a player ranked as a challenger.
In the previous 2 times, Williams was both the No. 1 seed and defeated her sister Venus in 2002 as well as Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
Rybakina, 27 years old, born in Russia but playing for Kazakhstan won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022, and now only needs the French Open title to complete her Grand Slam collection in her career.
And clearly, Rybakina's strength - as well as the ability to neutralize powerful blows from opponents - is what makes Sabalenka feel uneasy.
As a Belarusian native, Sabalenka sometimes launches full-force shots and powerful shouts.
Meanwhile, Rybakina's strength came more naturally and gently. Almost no sound was coming from her side of the field except for the whistling of the shoe soles on the surface, and she rarely revealed any signs of tension.
I think Elena is probably... not the indifferent type - I don't want to use that word, because she is not indifferent at all - but she just never expresses emotions outwardly," Gauff shared after losing to Rybakina in the semi-finals.
Rybakina once revealed a hint of annoyance after hitting her backhand out in a one-on-one situation with a break-point in the opening game of the third set, but very quickly, she completely controlled the match.
