Coco Gauff’s American dream has been shattered into pieces as Elena Rybakina booked her one-way ticket to the US Open final, thrashing Gauff 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.
Gauff started the match well and won the first set 6–3. She used her strong defence, speed and good returns to put Elena Rybakina under pressure. Rybakina’s powerful serve was dangerous, but Gauff managed to return many of her serves and win long rallies.
In the second set, Rybakina changed her game. She served better, hit the ball harder, and played more aggressively. Gauff made some mistakes, and Rybakina took the set 6–4 to level the match.
The third set was close, with both players fighting hard for every point. Rybakina’s serve and powerful shots gave her the advantage, while Gauff used her speed and defence to stay in the match. Rybakina eventually broke Gauff’s serve at an important moment and won the third set 6–4.
Giving a victory speech in front of the media and tennis fans, Rybakina said, “Coco is a great player. It’s always tough to play her. Even if sometimes her first serve doesn’t go the second one is so heavy it’s difficult to dictate the rallies. I took a deep breath, tried to talk positive with myself and just told myself I need to fight and try to show good tennis.”
Rybakina will battle for the 2026 US Open title against world no 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Their head-to-head record is 10-7 with Sabalenka leading. Their first match was at the 2019 Wuhan Open , Sabalenka won. They have also met at big tournaments such as Wimbledon, the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Madrid, the China Open, Wuhan and the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka will be looking to secure her third US Open title as she has won the title twice back in 2024 and 2025, while Rybakina has never lifted the tournament trophy.
