Elena Rybakina Dominates Naomi Osaka to Reach US Open Quarterfinals
Naomi Osaka walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium chasing a familiar feeling. Twice a champion in New York, once the dominant force of this hard-court swing, she found instead a wall of clean hitting and cold efficiency in Elena Rybakina.
There was no escape route this time.
The No. 2 seed dismantled Osaka 6-1, 6-4 on Monday, ending the Japanese star’s bid for a third US Open crown in the fourth round and underlining her own credentials as the tournament’s looming force.
Rybakina in Control
From the opening games, Rybakina set the tone. Her serve bit through the court, her first-strike aggression pinning Osaka behind the baseline. The 27-year-old, already the reigning Australian Open champion and a Wimbledon winner, played like a woman intent on adding Flushing Meadows to her growing list of conquests.
The first set raced away from Osaka. At 6-1, the scoreline told the story: Rybakina landing heavy first serves, stepping in on returns, and dictating rallies before Osaka could find any rhythm.
Osaka tried to reset in the second. She fought harder on serve, began to hold with more authority, and finally pushed Rybakina into longer exchanges. The match tightened. The crowd stirred.
But Rybakina never blinked.
When Osaka looked poised to turn the set into a scrap, Rybakina’s response was simple: raise the level, shorten the points, shut the door. She did exactly that, closing out the second set 6-4 and booking her first-ever US Open quarterfinal.
Osaka’s Season of Near-Misses
For Osaka, the defeat continues a year of deep runs without the ultimate breakthrough.
She had arrived in the last 16 on the back of a draining three-set win over Elise Mertens in the third round, a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 battle under the Saturday evening lights that hinted at her old grit and shot-making.
Her 2026 major record shows consistency, but not yet the cutting edge that once defined her: absent from the Australian Open with an abdominal injury, fourth round in Paris, quarterfinal at Wimbledon, and now another second-week exit in New York. She reached the semifinals here last year, but she has not moved beyond a major quarterfinal at any point this season.
For a player who lifted this trophy in 2018 and 2020 and once set the standard on hard courts, five straight years without a major title is a stark marker of how the landscape has shifted—and how high the bar remains.
Rybakina Marches On
Rybakina, by contrast, is moving in the opposite direction: steadily upward.
With this win, she reaches her first US Open quarterfinal and keeps alive the possibility of a third major title. She already owns the Australian Open and Wimbledon; now she stands just three victories away from completing an extraordinary hard-court double in 2026.
Her next test comes on Wednesday against Qinwen Zheng, who produced one of the standout results of the tournament by ousting No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 in Monday’s other fourth-round clash. That result ripped open the draw and handed Rybakina a dangerous, fearless opponent with nothing to lose and a giant already toppled.
Rybakina will not care how the bracket looks. Her game is built for these stages, and this fortnight is starting to feel like another major in which she has seized the initiative.
Osaka leaves New York again short of the finish line she once owned. Rybakina stays, sharper than ever, with the hard-court throne suddenly within reach.
