Elena Rybakina: US Open Champion and New World No. 1
Elena Rybakina walked into New York as the new world No. 1. She left it as the US Open champion – and a three-time major winner with history at her back.
On a heavy, charged night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 27-year-old Kazakhstani overpowered Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in a final that swung wildly before Rybakina seized it with cold, ruthless clarity. The match felt like a statement: the rankings change was no accident, and the balance of power at the top of the women’s game has shifted again.
She had already conquered Wimbledon in 2022. She had already mastered Melbourne earlier this year. Now New York belongs to her as well.
A champion under pressure
The context made this run different. Rybakina arrived with the No. 1 ranking freshly secured, carrying the weight that comes with it. Sabalenka, the player she had just deposed, stood across the net, bristling with power and intent. It was a final built on tension and shot-making, on fine margins and fierce resolve.
Rybakina held them better.
She edged the opening set 6-4, absorbing Sabalenka’s pace and redirecting it with that familiar, unhurried timing. When the Belarusian punched back to snatch the second 7-5 – catching Rybakina on her own serve at the death – the contest felt ready to tilt. Many players buckle there. The new No. 1 did the opposite.
The start of the third set told the story. Rybakina reset, raised her level and ripped into Sabalenka’s serve, turning return games into a siege. From the baseline she hit through the court, stepping in, taking time away, hitting lines. The pressure finally broke Sabalenka’s resistance, and the decider ran away from her 6-2.
Bartoli’s verdict: “absolutely extraordinary”
One former Wimbledon champion watched it all with particular appreciation. Marion Bartoli, speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, could hardly disguise her admiration.
“Can you imagine that her previous best result here was the fourth round?” Bartoli said. “That’s extraordinary, to come here with all the pressure of the world, knowing she had the No. 1 world ranking on her racket, to actually go on and win the title.
“The way she bounced back at the beginning of the third set tonight for me, was absolutely extraordinary.
“It looked like she completely forgot what happened at the back end of that second set, when she got caught on her own service game.
“She just kept on moving on, and moving forward all the time. The way she attacked Sabalenka’s serve all the time, putting her under so much pressure.
“The ball-striking from that young lady is just something else. She can do anything on the tennis court. She’s only missing Roland Garros now from completing a career Grand Slam.”
From a former major winner, that is not casual praise. It is a clear recognition that Rybakina now sits in the sport’s elite tier, not just in ranking but in aura.
History made in the grind
The scoreline in the final tells only part of the story. Across the fortnight, Rybakina built something far more substantial.
In the Open Era, no woman had ever won the US Open while going the distance in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Rybakina just did. Three straight three-set epics in the business end of a hard-court major, each one a test of lungs, legs and nerve.
That run underlines what the eye already suggests: she is one of the fittest, most durable athletes on the WTA Tour. She doesn’t just hit big; she endures. She doesn’t just front-run; she survives the storm and then swings harder.
Now she stands as a three-time Grand Slam champion with Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open on her résumé. Only Roland Garros remains if she is to complete the career Grand Slam that Bartoli pointed to. Clay has never been her most natural stage, but the way she is rewriting her limits, nothing about Paris next year feels out of reach.
For now, the racquet goes back in the bag. A stretch of celebration and quiet will follow, fully earned after a campaign that has redrawn the map at the top of women’s tennis.
But when the tour reconvenes and the next major looms, one question will hang over the locker room: who, exactly, is ready to stop Elena Rybakina now?
