Aryna Sabalenka Survives Thrilling US Open Quarterfinal Against Noskova

NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka didn’t so much win a tennis match on Arthur Ashe Stadium as drag herself through a storm and come out the other side still clinging to No. 1.

The defending US Open champion is two victories from a historic three-peat after outlasting Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7) in a quarterfinal that felt, at times, like it might never end. It finally did after two hours and 22 minutes, on a second-serve ace that Noskova could only watch fly past her.

One swing. One bold second serve. Match.

A blistering start, then a spiral

For a while, it looked routine.

Sabalenka, sharper on serve than she’d been in a patchy fourth-round win over Taylor Townsend, bolted to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. The first strike was back. The rhythm was there. Noskova, the No. 6 seed playing her first US Open quarterfinal, was stuck on the back foot.

Then Sabalenka’s other game — the emotional, volatile one — walked on court.

Serving for the set at 5-3, she double-faulted, let out a piercing scream, and cracked the door open. Noskova barged through, breaking back and reeling off three straight games to drag the set into a tiebreak.

That’s when the four-time Grand Slam champion snapped back.

Sabalenka ripped through the breaker 7-1, hammering returns, stepping in on every short ball, and resetting the tone. The scoreboard said tight; the tiebreak said dominance.

Noskova swings back

If the first set was chaotic, the second belonged to Noskova.

Sabalenka’s forehand, so often the weapon that separates her from the field, began to misfire. Balls flew long, drives dipped into the net. The clean, efficient serving that had built her early lead frayed under pressure.

Noskova didn’t need a second invitation. The Czech tightened her patterns, leaned on her precise serving and took control of the rallies. Her confidence grew with every hold.

Serving for the set, she needed four chances, but she closed it with authority: one of her 18 aces, struck so cleanly Sabalenka didn’t even move. The match was level, the defending champion’s momentum gone.

Suddenly, the player chasing a third straight US Open title looked vulnerable.

A third set on the edge

The decider turned into a test of nerve.

At 2-2, Sabalenka cracked again. Broken in the fifth game after an unforced error, she crouched down and screamed, the frustration spilling out in front of a restless Ashe crowd. Noskova held firm, nudging ahead 4-2 and looking every bit like the player about to topple the world No. 1.

Control, though, is fragile in matches like this.

Sabalenka refused to retreat. She flattened her groundstrokes, cut down the errors and attacked Noskova’s serve with renewed aggression. Three games in a row flew onto her side of the scoreboard. The roar returned, this time with purpose rather than panic.

Noskova kept swinging, kept landing big serves, kept forcing Sabalenka to hit one more ball. The third set tightened again, inevitably, into a tiebreak.

There, the tension was suffocating. Sabalenka, who admitted afterward she had believed “the match is over,” played as if freed by that thought. She went after her shots, took the ball early, and trusted the aggression that built her career.

On match point, she did the bravest thing on a tennis court: took a risk on a second serve. It clipped the box, kissed the line, and left Noskova stranded.

Ball. Line. Ace. Escape.

No. 1 on the line

“I’m speechless right now because I was pushing myself to the limit in this match, especially in the third set,” Sabalenka said on court. “I honestly thought that the match is over. I think that’s what helped me to feel loose and go after my shots. I’m super happy to get this win. It was a tough match, a tough battle.”

Her battle to stay No. 1, though, isn’t finished.

Sabalenka has held the top ranking since October 2024, but its future now sits in someone else’s hands. Elena Rybakina’s quarterfinal against Qinwen Zheng will decide it. If Rybakina wins, she will rise to No. 1 regardless of what Sabalenka does for the rest of the tournament.

For now, Sabalenka wakes up still on top of the rankings and still alive in the draw, chasing a slice of US Open history.

She survived Noskova. The next question is whether she can survive the field — and the rankings chase closing in around her.