Key events
And Britain’s Alfie Hewett has won his fifth wheelchair singles title in New York, beating his great rival and top seed Tokito Oda 6-0, 7-6 (5), to end a run of four successive losses to Oda in grand slam finals and stop the Japanese player from completing a calendar slam. Hewett said afterwards that he had been desperate to prove something to himself having won only two games against Oda in the Wimbledon final two months ago.
Already today in the men’s doubles: the British-American duo of Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison have done what Rybakina hopes to do later, adding the US Open title to the Australian Open crown they won in January, to claim a grand slam hard-court double. They defeated Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 7-6 (6) after saving a set point in the second-set tie-break. It’s a case of third time lucky for Skupski after he was a beaten finalist in New York in 2022 and last year with different partners.
Britain’s Neal Skupski and USA’s Christian Harrison react in celebration after defeating Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz during the men’s doubles final match. Photograph: Leonardo Muñoz/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 15.17 EDT
Preamble
After an A+++ women’s tournament, in which we’ve seen so many must-watch matches (take your pick between this, this, this, this or this), captivating comebacks (much respect to Zheng Qinwen) and the top seeds eventually asserting their authority, it seems fitting that it all ends here: Aryna Sabalenka v Elena Rybakina, the world No 1 for the past 99 weeks v the player who will replace her at the top of the rankings on Monday.
When these two are at their best no one else on tour can live with them – well, apart from peak Iga Swiatek – though it’s been a while since we’ve seen that version of the Pole at the grand slams. But, up until this tournament, it had been a while since we’d seen the best version of Sabalenka too. Having not claimed a slam title this year or reached a final since she won Miami in March, amid a series of defeats to much lower-ranked players during the summer, the two-time defending US Open champion has rediscovered her form this fortnight, gaining momentum and equilibrium as the rounds have gone by. She looks intent on salvaging her slam season In New York – as she did last year too – and losing her No 1 ranking will no doubt make her even more determined to prove a point today, while Rybakina will be full of confidence and feeling on top of the world, quite literally, after scaling the summit for the first time in her career.
They haven’t entered Navratilova v Evert territory yet (the recent documentary about the 80 matches (!) those two played and their friendship off the court is brilliant, btw), but Sabalenka v Rybakina is turning into quite a rivalry. This will be the fourth time they’ve contested a final in the past 10 months – Rybakina prevailed at last year’s season-ending WTA Finals and this year’s Australian Open, before Sabalenka triumphed in Indian Wells – and their third grand slam final overall, with the pair holding one win apiece. Both of those were closely contested three-setters, so there are high hopes of this turning into a trilogy of classics today.
Despite the variation Sabalenka has added to her game in recent years, this is power v power, arguably the best groundstrokes in women’s tennis v the best serve, an arm wrestle for first-strike supremacy between two players so similar in style but different in personality, with the contrast between Sabalenka’s volatility and Rybakina’s composure adding even more appeal to this potentially era-defining rivalry.
The players will be on court: at about 4pm New York time/9pm BST. So get settled in with some Honey Deuces and do get in touch with any thoughts or predictions.