Elena Rybakina Becomes World No. 1 After US Open Quarterfinal Win
Elena Rybakina walked off Arthur Ashe Stadium with more than a semifinal ticket. She walked off as the new world No. 1.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan overturned a slow start to beat Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, a result that not only kept her title chase alive but also guaranteed she will rise to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time on Monday.
She will replace Aryna Sabalenka, ending the Belarusian’s 99-week grip on the No. 1 spot.
From flat start to history
For a set, Rybakina looked miles away from history. Zheng, the powerful French Open finalist from China, came out swinging, taking the ball early and bullying Rybakina off the baseline to claim the opener 6-3.
Then the match flipped.
Rybakina tightened her length, found her first serve, and began to dictate with that heavy, flat forehand that has become her calling card. The response was ruthless: a 6-1 second set in which Zheng’s early authority vanished under a barrage of clean hitting.
The decider brought tension back. Zheng steadied, the rallies stretched, and the match settled into a knife-edge baseline duel. Rybakina’s composure held. One break was enough. She closed out the 6-4 third set to book her place in the last four and, with it, the summit of the women’s game.
“It’s just a number right now. My goal is to win the tournaments which I play,” Rybakina said afterward, refusing to be swept away by the rankings milestone. “It’s an amazing achievement, but you know how quickly everything can change in tennis ranking-wise.”
A new No. 1 for Kazakhstan, a new chapter for the WTA
With this run, Rybakina becomes the first player from Kazakhstan, man or woman, to reach No. 1 in singles. She is the 30th player in WTA history to sit atop the rankings, a list that stretches from Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to Serena Williams and Iga Świątek. Now it has a new name.
Her rise also ends one of the longest recent reigns in women’s tennis. Sabalenka’s 99 consecutive weeks at No. 1 stand as the sixth-longest streak in WTA history. She has spent 107 weeks in total at the top since first climbing there on October 21, 2024, anchoring an era defined by her raw power and relentless aggression.
All season, Rybakina had stalked Sabalenka’s position. She arrived in New York as one of three women with a realistic shot at No. 1, alongside Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff. The equation was simple: Pegula and Gauff both needed to win the US Open and hope Rybakina fell before the semifinals.
Rybakina refused to oblige.
By stepping into the last four, she shut the door on both Americans’ ranking hopes, no matter what happens from here. Even if Sabalenka lifts the trophy on Sunday, the top spot now belongs to Rybakina.
Gauff awaits in a blockbuster semifinal
Next comes a mouth-watering clash with Coco Gauff, the former US Open champion who survived a dramatic escape of her own.
Gauff stared down two match points against Mirra Andreeva, the 19-year-old French Open champion from Russia, before clawing back for a 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 victory. The teenager had Gauff reeling, but the American dug in, turned the tiebreak around by the narrowest of margins, and then ran away with the third set.
“Elena is the new world number one,” Gauff said, fully aware of the scale of the challenge ahead. “It’s going to be a tough match. These are the moments you live for.”
It will be a collision of styles and storylines: Gauff’s electric movement and counterpunching against Rybakina’s clean, linear power; a home favorite under the lights against the sport’s newly crowned standard-bearer.
Sabalenka still in the frame
The rankings may be settled, but the draw is not. Sabalenka, now the outgoing No. 1, remains very much alive in the tournament and will face Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
The prospect hangs tantalizingly over New York: if both Rybakina and Sabalenka win their semifinals, the US Open will stage a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, where Rybakina prevailed in three sets.
Rybakina is chasing her third Grand Slam title, having already lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 2022 and the Australian Open earlier this year. The No. 1 ranking is the badge of consistency; another major would be the exclamation point.
For now, the numbers tell one story. The court will decide the rest.
