{"id":892216,"date":"2026-09-11T21:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892216\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T21:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:18:14","slug":"aryna-sabalenka-and-elena-rybakina-to-meet-in-a-us-open-final-between-the-worlds-top-2-players-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892216\/","title":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina to meet in a US Open final between the world\u2019s top 2 players \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Aryna Sabalenka is going for a third consecutive U.S. Open title. Standing in her way is Elena Rybakina, who is taking over for her as the No. 1-ranked women\u2019s tennis player in the world.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka and Rybakina meet in the final on Saturday, their third time playing for a Grand Slam championship and 18th head-to-head matchup of their careers. It comes with them at the top of their games and the top of the sport after Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets and Rybakina rallied past Coco Gauff in the semifinals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with the two best players in the last couple of years on the women\u2019s side,\u201d former men\u2019s player Max Mirnyi, now part of Sabalenka\u2019s coaching team, said Friday. \u201cTheir results and their rankings and their titles speak for themselves. When they see each other across the net, I think that brings out the best in each one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"FILE
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFILE – Elena Rybakina, left, of Kazakhstan, holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Aryna Sabalenka, right, of Belarus, in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Dita Alangkara, File)<\/p>\n

Sabalenka entered the U.S. Open in a bit of a rut, failing to reach the quarterfinals in each of her past three tournaments, including an exit in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The 28-year-old has looked right at home back in Flushing Meadows, losing just one set in six matches and making another deep run in dominant fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s in love with New York, I guess,\u201d coach Anton Dubrov said with a laugh, noting Sabalenka\u2019s strength on hard courts and calmness in the chaotic environment of Arthur Ashe Stadium. \u201cIf she\u2019s in control of (her) energy, she\u2019s pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabalenka has been first in the WTA rankings since Oct. 21, 2024. Regardless of the result, that changes Monday, with Rybakina ascending to that spot for the first time.<\/p>\n

Rybakina, 27, is one victory away from her third major title and second this year. She won the Australian Open in January, beating Sabalenka in the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an important match, and since it\u2019s a final, honestly, I feel like it doesn\u2019t matter who is on the other side,\u201d Rybakina said after beating Gauff on Friday night. \u201cYou just want to win and do your best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabalenka has won 10 of her 17 matches against Rybakina, including two of three at Grand Slams. Rybakina is 4-2 when they\u2019ve faced off in a final.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a very aggressive player: It\u2019s difficult to play with her, mentally, physically because she has big game, big serve,\u201d Rybakina said. \u201cI will need to come with all the energy I will have, bring my best serve against Aryna and make the right decisions in the right moment because most of the times it\u2019s (a) tight, tight score.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mirnyi believes Sabalenka has gotten better throughout the tournament. That was evident in her making quick work of the third-ranked Pegula 7-5, 6-2, in 80 minutes to reach her fourth U.S. Open final in a row.<\/p>\n

So much for the concerns over Sabalenka\u2019s summer struggles.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sign<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel confident, and I feel mentally and physically really strong right now,\u201d Sabalenka said. \u201cI keep the same routine. The last couple of months really teach me how to shut down the noise from outside. I think that\u2019s what\u2019s the meaning behind all of those tough lessons to finally learn how to stay focused on myself and forget about the outside noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of that noise was about being \u2014 and losing \u2014 No. 1 status. Sabalenka\u2019s coaches see a benefit in having the situation settled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extra fuel: \u2018I have to prove who\u2019s who,\u2019\u201d Dubrov said. \u201cThere\u2019s a next chapter right now. You have to chase again. It\u2019s extra motivation for you. Just go and get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\n See AP\u2019s full tennis coverage here<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Aryna Sabalenka is going for a third consecutive U.S. Open title. Standing in her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-892216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}