She played, and won, all seven. Mumbai: Last month, Elena Rybakina wasn’t sure if she would be able to play a match at the US Open.
As the US Open champion. That’s some stamp of statement to go with the turnaround tale. The Russian-born Kazakh wasn’t done dethroning the incumbent from the top spot. Every day was a challenge.”
Rybakina defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 for her first US Open crown after a high stakes, high quality final. Because i was playing for No.1, and then this injury happened, “This tournament was more stressful,.
“It’s going to be very different to wake up knowing that you won the US Open and achieved the No.1 ranking,” Rybakina said in the press conference. She took her title too on Saturday night.
Rybakina did not train for a week, and did not know how she would turn up at the US Open. With four straight-set sweeps in the first week and battling wins from a set down in the quarters and semis, Rybakina went from not making the last eight of the season-ending Slam before to being the last woman standing. The latter’s though came while facing break points as the Sabalenka serve was under pressure. A stinging return and a solid backhand from the Kazakh set up another break point in the fifth game. Sabalenka double faulted, smacked the ball into the stands and received a code violation.
That foot injury happened in Cincinnati 10 days before her first match in New York.
That work gave her three biggest hard court titles — the WTA Finals in 2025 and the two Slams in 2026, beating Sabalenka in all three finals. “Now I feel like I have a great team, great people around me. We continued the work. And it finally paid off. The Belarusian smashed her racquet and sat with her team in stunned silence after the match.
“A lot of things (were) happening,” said Rybakina of last season.
