2026 US Open Final: Rybakina, Sabalenka Target Grand Slam Title

The city of New York will literally be on standstill as two of the tennis powerhouses, Elena Rybakina and Sabalenka, will battle to win the US Open final on Saturday, which carries total prize money of $108 million.

It will be the first time the top two women’s seeds have contested a US Open final since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 showpiece.

Recall that Rybakina reached her first US Open final (fourth major overall) after a gritty 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 comeback win over 2023 champion Coco Gauff in the semifinals. While Sabalenka kept her three-peat bid alive with a dominant 7–5, 6–2 straight-sets semifinal win over Jessica Pegula.

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Interestingly, Rybakina and Sabalenka have faced each other 17 times on the WTA Tour, with the Belarusian leading their rivalry 10-7.

The outgoing No. 1 raced into a 4-0 lead between 2019 and 2023, including the Aussie Open decider three years ago, but the big-serving Rybakina has won seven of the next 13 meetings, the most recent of which inflicted back-to-back Australian Open final defeats on Sabalenka.

Although the four-time Grand Slam champion has got her revenge by winning the last two encounters in title matches during the Sunshine Swing, a third will taste even sweeter for the 24-time WTA champion, who seeks to end a year-long drought without a Major title.

Unsurprisingly, 10 of their 17 meetings have gone the distance, with the four-time Slam winner securing eight wins in their three-set matches, suggesting that Rybakina would prefer to get the job done in two sets.

Speaking in her post-match press conference after defeating Gauff, Rybakina unveiled what she must do if she wants to be Sabalenka in the final.

“I’ll need to bring my best serve and make the right decisions in the right moment,” said Rybakina. “Most of the time it’s tight scores. This is where the decision makes a difference.”

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On the other hand, speaking after defeating Pegula in the US Open semi final, Sabalenka said: “It’s an important match, and since it’s a final, I feel like ​it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side,” said Rybakina, who will take over as world number one from Sabalenka on Monday.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, because ​we’re very close in the rankings. Even if something goes wrong in the final, ​I’ll still have other opportunities and other tournaments until the end of the year.”