Elena Rybakina completes achievement only Steffi Graf can match in WTA history as she wins the US Open
· Yahoo Sports
Elena Rybakina captured her first US Open title and third Grand Slam overall after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Days after taking her spot at world number one, Rybakina denied the Belarusian a historic three-peat in New York by beating her in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
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The Kazakh star came out firing in the first set, playing some of her best tennis as Sabalenka grew increasingly frustrated.
Sabalenka managed to force a third set, but a double break from Rybakina in the decider meant there was no way back for the former WTA number one.
Rybakina, now just a French Open title away from the career Grand Slam, joined tennis legend Steffi Graf in an exclusive club with her triumph.
Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty ImagesElena Rybakina joins Steffi Graf in exclusive club after US Open win
According to Opta Ace, since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, Rybakina is just the second player to defeat the world number one in multiple Grand Slam finals in a season, after Graf in 1995.
That year, Graf beat number one Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Monica Seles en route to the French Open and US Open titles, respectively.
Rybakina picked up her first Grand Slam title of the 2026 season at the Australian Open, where she overcame Sabalenka in three sets.
She was a doubt coming into this year’s US Open, having suffered an ankle injury at the Cincinnati Open.
But Rybakina recorded a dominant campaign at Flushing Meadows, advancing to the quarterfinals without dropping a set.
Rybakina came back from a set down in both her quarterfinal match with Qinwen Zheng and her semifinal clash with Coco Gauff.
While she entered the tournament ranked second in the world, Rybakina’s win over Zheng guaranteed her position atop the rankings on Monday.
Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty ImagesElena Rybakina matches several tennis greats with third major
Rybakina is starting to ramp up her Grand Slam title tally, which is now on par with several tennis greats.
The 27-year-old now has as many major titles as Ashleigh Barty, Angelique Kerber, Jennifer Capriati and Virginia Wade.
She is just one Grand Slam title away from some of her rivals, including Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka.
Rybakina has surpassed Coco Gauff’s tally of two, as well as Simona Halep, Barbora Krejcikova and Petra Kvitova.
Should she win the French Open next year or any year, she will become the seventh woman in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Margaret Court.