There's a new world No. 1 and she has a third career grand slam to show for it


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Elena Rybakina wanted to ensure there were no questions who the best in the world was when the new USTA rankings release next week.

Soon-to-be-crowned the new No. 1 on the women's side, Rybakina held off top-seed Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's US Open final, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to win her third career major. Rybakina broke Sabalenka early in the third and again at 5-2, holding off the two-time defending champion with precision and execution.

Rybakina dropped just three points on serve during the third set, a dominant showing. The win was Rybakina's 10th over a No. 1 player, six of those coming against Sabalenka.

"It's tough to find words, I didn't expect nothing like this coming into this tournament dealing with an injury, but somehow everything aligned on my side," Rybakina said. "It's so difficult to play Aryna, she pushes you to your limits. Congrats to Aryna on (your) achievements. Thank you spectators for an amazing atmosphere. I honestly was coming her the last 10 years and was never successful, nothing close to that. It's just incredible, I'm falling in love with New York."

Sabalenka is currently No. 1 and Rybakina No. 2 in the WTA rankings, but those numbers change Monday after the Belarusian held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks before her adversary's hot stretch this season.

As Sabalenka began to unravel midway through the final set, the chair umpire told the crowd several times to be courtesy of the players and to turn all camera flashes off.

Sabalenka failed in her attempt to become the first three-peat champion at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams accomplished the feat in 2014.

Rybakina sealed the deal with her 12th ace of the match.

Feeling the moment in the third, Sabalenka was broken at 2-1 by Rybakina and later went down 3-1 after getting to a drop at the net before depositing the return right to her partner's backhand for an easy winner. Rybakina later held at love to push ahead 4-2, pushing Sabalenka to playfully toss her racket into the air in frustration.

Sabalenka goes down with a fight
Rybakina fought off two set points in the second set and had four straight points on serve to hold, but Sabalenka responded to force a decisive set. At 5-5 in the second, Rybakina got to deuce on Sabalenka's serve after the Belarusian banged a forehand into the net.

However, the former world No. 1 responded with consecutive points to hold, the second coming on an overheard smash at the net on a ball Sabalenka annihilated to the backstop.

Sabalenka smelled blood at 6-5 on her end with Rybakina on serve, deciding to attack her second with force. Sabalenka pinned Rybakina to the corner with a well-placed backhand and charged the net, but the return fell short and she pumped her fist after forcing more tennis.

Hot start for Rybakina
Rybakina earned a break point early and secured another midway through the first set and got it on a double fault from Sabalenka. The top-seed got a warning for ball abuse from the chair umpire during the change over after showing negative emotion.

Rybakina had two holds at love in the first set and through the first six games, managed six winners without an unforced error. Rybakina is now 8-10 in her career against Sabalenka, but holds a 5-2 mark in tournament finals.

This was the third meeting between the two elites in a grand slam championship after Rybakina won the Australian Open earlier this year and Sabalenka took that title in 2023.

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