Elena Rybakina ended Zheng Qinwen's impressive journey in the US Open 2026 quarterfinals after 3 sets in the early morning of September 10 (Vietnam time), thereby ensuring to rise to the world No. 1 position in women's singles for the first time in her career.
The 27-year-old Kazakh star reversed the score to beat the Chinese player 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, and will face former champion Coco Gauff to compete for a place in the final.
Rybakina – the world No. 2 player – is sure to end Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week reign at No. 1 on the WTA rankings as soon as she reaches the semi-finals, regardless of whether Sabalenka wins the US Open for the third consecutive time or not.
Currently, that is just a number," Rybakina shared, "That is a different achievement... but in the end, the most important thing is still the titles".
As the first Kazakhstan player to reach the No. 1 position, Rybakina became the 30th female player to reach this position. She is aiming for her third Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open earlier this year, 4 years after winning Wimbledon.
I feel like I will cherish and think more about it when my career is over," she said about her ranking, "Like now, you still need to keep moving forward.
Zheng, 23 years old, the reigning Olympic champion, missed her first US Open semi-final in her career. Before that, she had failed in the only Grand Slam final to participate in the Australian Open 2024.
Once ranked 4th in the world but dropped to 121st place after being out of competition for about 8 months due to elbow surgery, Zheng passed the qualifying round and won 7 matches at this year's tournament.
In which, she had impressive comebacks against Iga Swiatek - a 6-time Grand Slam player and Madison Keys - former Australian Open champion.
Rybakina will only officially reach number 1 when the rankings are announced early next week, and in the immediate future, she must overcome the remaining obstacles to win the US Open. Gauff will be the opponent on the other side of the net in the semi-finals.
Gauff – who won his first Grand Slam in 2 major titles at Flushing Meadows in 2023 – also had to come back against 19-year-old Russian player Mirra Andreeva, the reigning French Open champion and currently ranked 5th in the world.
The home player saved 2 match points before winning the overall score 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
The inspiration that helped Gauff reverse the score was Frances Tiafoe, an American male compatriot who reversed the score after 5 sets against Alex Michelsen.
I just need to regain my focus," Gauff shared, "Honestly, I thought about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back. I just tried to leave the field without regretting anything.
Regarding Rybakina, Gauff said: "Elena is the new world number one tennis player. It will be a difficult match. These are the moments that people crave to experience".
In the men's singles event, if the 2 matches yesterday were both tense, dramatic and required 5 sets, then this morning, everything was much simpler.
Karen Khachanov entered the semi-finals after Belgian player Alexander Blockx had to retire due to injury, at a time when the Russian player was leading 6-2, 7-5, 3-2.
Blockx, 21 years old, almost had to retire due to injury in the 4th round win against Francisco Cerundolo.
Playing with bandaged thighs and having to temporarily stop the match for medical care, he shared: "I think I finally understand the harshness of fitness at Grand Slam tournaments. It is completely different from the usual maximum 3 set tournaments of the ATP".
In the latest match, Alexander Zverev easily defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 in just 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Zverev plays Khachanov in the semi-finals, with the other match between Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, who eliminated Carlos Alcaraz.
