Aryna Sabalenka was hoping to make history in the US Open 2026 women’s final.
The two-time defending champion was going for an elusive three-peat victory and was on track to hit that milestone with a strong tournament run, only dropping one set against Linda Noskova en route to the final.
Unfortunately, she was unable to overcome rival and new world No.1 Elena Rybakina, who defeated Sabalenka 6-4 5-7 6-2.
While this certainly was not the result Sabalenka – now world No.2 – was hoping for, this is by no means the endgame for the 28-year-old.
“Overall, I should be happy with the level I played, and there's lots of things to take from this tournament,” said Sabalenka.
“I mean, as experience shows, that I only come back stronger and all of these lessons this season definitely already made me stronger, but definitely going to motivate me for the next year to do a better job.”
The match was a thrilling three-setter that had the crowd on the edge of their seats for much of the two hours and 21 minutes. At the roar of encouragement for Sabalenka during tense set points, it was clear the New York crowd were also gunning for Sabalenka in her quest to become a three-time US Open champion, the first since Serena Williams more than 10 years ago.
“It felt amazing,” Sabalenka said of the crowd’s support. “Actually, at some point I felt like, ‘Oh, my God, I feel American over there’.”
As much as the crowd rallied behind the defending champion, it was not enough for Sabalenka to beat Rybakina, whose 85 per cent of first serve points won – with the help of 12 mighty aces – were the tipping point against Sabalenka’s 69 per cent.
“We have a great rivalry. We play a lot of great matches, great finals this season," Sabalenka said. "Her serve is amazing, the way she’s able to step in and overpower you on court, and especially if it's a US Open court where it's super fast, definitely huge advantage for her.”
Rybakina echoed this sentiment on court following her victory, turning to Sabalenka to say: “It’s so difficult to play against you.”
The stakes were high for both women, who are pivotal figures in the current golden era of women’s tennis, with their rivalry helping define this period. Passionate play was an understatement, with exclamations after points lost and a broken racquet at the end of the match.
When asked about how tough it was to control her emotions during such a high-pressure match, for Sabalenka, it was less about control and more about letting go.
“It's really tough to control your emotions when you lose in the final of the Grand Slam and when you were trying to go for three-peat.," she explained. "So I just wanted to let it go, because if I would hold it inside, right now or here or there on the court, I wouldn't be able to say a word … So I just wanted to let all of that aggression and disappointment go outside.”
But not all hope is lost, given Sabalenka remains one of the most formidable figures in the Open era.
By playing this championship match, Sabalenka became the first female or male player in the Open era to reach eight consecutive Grand Slam finals on hard court, surpassing the seven reached by Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Novak Djokovic.
Rybakina has now won five of their seven meetings in event finals and secured the No.1 ranking, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week reign at the top.
Yet Sabalenka will not let that ruffle her feathers. In fact, learning just how long she held that top spot for was a moment for recognition for her hard efforts.
“Ninety-nine [weeks]? Well, that's amazing. Let's see if Elena can beat me in that," Sabalenka laughed. "[If] she continue to play like that, then yeah, I'm in trouble.”