{"id":892320,"date":"2026-09-11T23:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T23:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892320\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T23:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T23:20:13","slug":"sabalenka-vs-rybakina-us-open-womens-singles-final-start-prize-form-tennis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892320\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabalenka vs Rybakina: US Open women\u2019s singles final \u2013 start, prize, form | Tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who: Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina
What: US Open 2026<\/a> women\u2019s singles final
Where: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York, United States
When: Saturday, September 12, 4pm local time (20:00 GMT)
How to follow:\u00a0We\u2019ll have all the build-up on\u00a0Al Jazeera Sport<\/a> from 1pm local time (17:00 GMT) before our live text commentary stream.<\/p>\n

The top two seeds at the US Open 2026 clash in the women\u2019s singles final on Saturday, as two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on soon-to-be world No. 1 Elena Rybakina.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s clash at Arthur Ashe Stadium offers top seed Sabalenka the opportunity to complete a rare \u201cthree-peat\u201d of US Open titles \u2013 a feat achieved by only two other women.<\/p>\n

But second seed Rybakina will try to deal Sabalenka another blow, having already ensured the Belarusian\u2019s 99-week reign at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday.<\/p>\n

As the pair meet in a Grand Slam final for the third time, Al Jazeera tells you everything you need to know:<\/p>\n

Who did Sabalenka and Rybakina beat in the semifinals?<\/p>\n

Sabalenka eliminated<\/a> top-ranked \u2060American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semifinal on Thursday, continuing her bid to join Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to win three straight US Open titles.<\/p>\n

In the second semifinal, Rybakina silenced the partisan crowd, rallying from a set down to beat 2023 champion Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.<\/p>\n

When did Sabalenka and Rybakina last meet?<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve met three times this year, with Sabalenka winning their semifinal clash in Miami and the final at Indian Wells in southern California.<\/p>\n

Rybakina won just once; however, it was the biggest of the three, lifting the Australian Open title<\/a> in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Rybakina not putting pressure on herself before Sabalenka showdown<\/p>\n

Rybakina said she will not put extra pressure on herself \u2060before her maiden US Open final, viewing the showdown as another chance to test herself against a rival who pushes \u2060her to the limit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an \u200cimportant match, and since it\u2019s a final, I feel like it doesn\u2019t matter who\u2019s on the other side,\u201d said Rybakina.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t want to put too much pressure on myself, because we\u2019re very close in the rankings.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if something goes wrong in the final, I\u2019ll still have other opportunities and other \u2060tournaments until the end of the year,\u201d the 27-year-old added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe push each other \u2060when we play these matches, and you can clearly see what you need to work on more. I think that\u2019s great that you play against someone who pushes you to the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kazakhstan'sKazakhstan\u2019s Elena Rybakina is gearing up for her first US Open final [File: Charly Triballeau\/AFP]Sabalenka ready for \u2018whatever it takes\u2019 to win<\/p>\n

The unstoppable Sabalenka pounded third-seeded Pegula remorselessly with her powerful groundstrokes, saying she was \u201csuper desperate\u201d to reach her fourth straight final.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way,\u201d said Sabalenka, who has had a slow summer since back-to-back wins at Indian Wells and Miami in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mentality was just I\u2019m ready. I\u2019m ready for whatever it\u2019s going to take to get the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe [Rybakina] is a big server. She really improved over the years on the baseline game, so it\u2019s going to be a physically and mentally tough match,\u201d the Belarusian added.<\/p>\n

How many Grand Slams has Sabalenka won?<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old has four major titles in her cabinet: two Australian Open titles (2023 and 2024), and two US Open crowns (2024 and 2025).<\/p>\n

How many Grand Slams has Rybakina won?<\/p>\n

The Russian-born Kazakh has two major titles: the 2022 Wimbledon title and the 2026 Australian Open title.<\/p>\n

What is the head-to-head record between Sabalenka and Rybakina?<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s final will be their 18th career meeting, with Sabalenka leading the head-to-head 10-7.<\/p>\n

It will also mark the third time they will clash in a Grand Slam final after Rybakina won the 2026 Australian Open and Sabalenka triumphed at the same major in 2023.<\/p>\n

Who is the favourite in the final?<\/p>\n

History suggests Sabalenka is the favourite at Flushing Meadows, having not been beaten since losing the 2023 final to Gauff.<\/p>\n

The current World No. 1 has dropped only one set en route to the title clash, and seems to have hit her peak form just before the final in a \u201clast push of the season\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ArynaAryna Sabalenka is set for her fourth consecutive US Open final [File: Heather Khalifa\/AP]<\/p>\n

That said, Rybakina will be no pushover for Sabalenka. Her fighting spirit and ability to stay cool under pressure headlined her semifinal victory, giving Sabalenka a taste of what to expect as the top seeds clash in a major finale once again.<\/p>\n

Rybakina, though, admitted that she needs to step up her game for Saturday\u2019s showdown against Sabalenka, whom she described as an \u201cunbelievable player\u201d.<\/p>\n

Who else has done a US Open three-peat?<\/p>\n

The last player to win three consecutive titles in New York was tennis legend Serena Williams, the champion from 2012 to 2014.<\/p>\n

Former World No. 1 Evert also pulled off three in a row between 1976 and 1978.<\/p>\n

What is the prize money?<\/p>\n

The winner of the US Open women\u2019s singles final will take home $5.5m, while the runner-up will be awarded $2.8 million, part of the collective $108m the tournament offered at this year\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n

Where can I watch the US Open final?<\/p>\n

The final will be televised or live-streamed around the world by its international\u00a0broadcast\u00a0partners.<\/p>\n

United States: ESPN
\nUnited Kingdom: Sky Sports
\nIndia: JioHotstar
\nSouth Africa: SuperSport<\/p>\n

You can find your regional broadcaster on the official US Open website\u2019s TV listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who: Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena RybakinaWhat: US Open 2026 women\u2019s singles finalWhere: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York, United…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,457,82,593,772],"class_list":["post-892320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892320","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=892320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}