Elena Rybakina Becomes World No. 1 After US Open Quarterfinal Win
Elena Rybakina walked off Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night with more than a place in the US Open semifinals. She walked off as the new world No. 1.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan overturned a slow start to defeat Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a hard-edged quarterfinal, a win that guarantees she will replace Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings on Monday. The comeback didn’t just keep her New York campaign alive. It rewrote the sport’s leaderboard.
From slow start to statement win
For a set, Zheng had the script in her hands. The French Open champion from China attacked early, took time away from Rybakina and pocketed the opener 6-3. Rybakina looked flat, late to the ball, a step off the pace.
Then the match flipped.
Rybakina tightened her baseline game, found her first serve, and began to dictate. The second set raced by 6-1, the power dynamic now running only one way. Zheng, who had been fearless in the rallies, suddenly found herself reacting, not leading.
The decider was a grind. Zheng pushed, Rybakina held firm. One break was all that separated them, and Rybakina guarded it with the composure of a player who has already lifted major trophies. She closed out the 6-4 third set and with it secured a semifinal berth—and the No. 1 ranking—on the same swing of the racquet.
A historic No. 1
With that victory, Rybakina becomes the first player from Kazakhstan, man or woman, to reach world No. 1 in singles. She is the 30th player in WTA history to sit on top of the rankings, a list that runs through the sport’s most imposing names.
Her rise ends one of the longest modern reigns. Sabalenka’s stretch as world No. 1 stops at 99 consecutive weeks, the sixth-longest unbroken run the tour has seen. In total, the Belarusian has spent 107 weeks at the summit since first climbing there on October 21, 2024.
All season, Rybakina had been the nearest threat. She arrived in New York as one of three women—alongside Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff—who could mathematically depose Sabalenka. For Pegula and Gauff, the path was narrow: win the US Open and hope Rybakina fell before the semifinals. Rybakina made sure that door slammed shut.
Gauff awaits in a blockbuster semifinal
The new No. 1 now runs straight into one of the sport’s biggest home hopes. Rybakina’s semifinal opponent will be Coco Gauff, the former US Open champion, who survived a dramatic escape earlier in the day.
Gauff stared down two match points against 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion from Russia, before clawing out a 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 win. It was the kind of escape that can ignite a tournament, and Gauff knew exactly what awaits next.
“Elena is the new world number one,” Gauff said. “It’s going to be a tough match. These are the moments you live for.”
The matchup delivers everything a semifinal should: the tour’s new standard-bearer against the face of its next generation, in front of a New York crowd that feeds on storylines like this.
Number one, but not done
For Rybakina, the ranking is a landmark, not a finish line. She already owns two Grand Slam titles—Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open earlier this year—and is chasing a third major crown in Flushing Meadows.
“It’s just a number right now. My goal is to win the tournaments which I play,” the 27-year-old said. “It’s an amazing achievement, but you know how quickly everything can change in tennis ranking-wise.”
That perspective fits the arc of her season. She has hovered near Sabalenka all year, applying pressure without quite breaking through. In New York, she finally has. And yet, in her own mind, the real job is still out there on the hard courts.
Sabalenka still in the hunt
Sabalenka’s reign may be ending, but her title hopes are not. The outgoing No. 1 has powered her way into the semifinals and will face Jessica Pegula in the other last-four clash.
If both Sabalenka and Rybakina advance, the US Open will stage a final dripping with narrative: the new No. 1 against the woman she just unseated, a rematch of this year’s Australian Open championship match, which Rybakina won in three sets.
A hardcourt major. A ranking handover. A rivalry taking shape at the very top of the game.
Rybakina has already secured her place in history this week. The question now is whether she leaves New York as not just the world No. 1, but the US Open champion as well.
