Sabalenka vs Rybakina, US Open women's singles final: Statistical preview
What's the story
In a thrilling semi-final match at the 2026 US Open, Elena Rybakina defeated home favorite Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The match was a fierce contest but ultimately saw Rybakina emerge victorious. With this win, she set up a highly anticipated final against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian star had earlier beaten Jessica Pegula to inch closer to her third consecutive title at Flushing Meadows. We look at the match preview and stats.
Match highlights
Rybakina outlasts Gauff in 3 sets
Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, started slow as Gauff took the first set.
However, she capitalized on some sloppy play by Gauff in the second set to level the match.
The deciding set saw Rybakina gain control with her power and break serve to go 5-3 up.
Despite a brief comeback from Gauff, Rybakina broke again to close out her win and secure a spot in the final against Sabalenka.
Match recap
Sabalenka overcomes Pegula
In the other semi-final, top seed Sabalenka used her power to beat Pegula.
She hit 29 winners and seven aces before sealing the match with an unreturnable shot deep in Pegula's territory.
Despite a strong start from Pegula, who saved an early break point with a forehand winner, she couldn't withstand Sabalenka's onslaught and made several costly mistakes in the second set.
Final preview
H2H record between Rybakina and Sabalenka
The 2026 US Open final will be a clash of two powerhouses, Rybakina and Sabalenka.
The two have met 17 times before on the WTA Tour, with Sabalenka leading their head-to-head record 10-7.
In Grand Slam encounters, the Belarusian leads 2-1 while on hard courts, she has a slight edge at 7-5.
However, in finals, Rybakina has the upper hand with a record of 4-2 against her rival.
Rybakina
Rybakina at Grand Slams: Decoding her stats
Rybakina now owns a 75-24 win-loss record at Grand Slams.
Her performance at the US Open reads 14-6.
Notably, Rybakina is chasing her maiden US Open crown.
She has reached her 4th Slam final, having won two titles and lost once before.
In 2026, she won the Australian Open before exiting in the 2nd and 3rd rounds respectively at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
And now, she has reached the US Open final. She is 16-2 at Grand Slams this year.
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48-13 win-loss record for Rybakina in 2026
Rybakina extended her 2026 record to 48-13 on the WTA Tour. Only fellow semi-finalist Jessica Pegula has won more tour-level matches this year. She has a 50-13 win-loss record.
US Open
US Open: 40-6 win-loss record for Sabalenka
Sabalenka entered the 2026 US Open tournament as a two-time defending champion.
She collected titles here in 2024 and 2025. Notably, she was also a runner-up here in 2023 and a two-time semi-finalist in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Sabalenka has played 46 US Open women's singles matches. She owns a 40-6 win-loss record.
Slams
119-29 win-loss record at Grand Slams; 9th final
Overall at Grand Slams, Sabalenka has a 119-29 win-loss record.
She is a four-time Grand Slam champion (also 2 Australian Open honors).
Sabalenka has now reached finals at Grand Slams on 9 occasions.
In 2026, she reached the Australian Open final before clocking a quarter-final berth at Roland Garros and a 4th-round place at Wimbledon.
She is chasing her maiden Slam crown in 2026.
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A unique record for Sabalenka-Rybakina pair
As per Opta, since the Australian Open switched to hard court in 1988, a pair will meet in the Australian and US Open finals in a season for just the second time: Steffi Graf-Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1994) and Aryna Sabalenka-Elena Rybakina (2026).
Records
Quick records to watch ahead of the final
Rybakina is one of only two active players to defeat former champions at all four Grand Slam events, along with Serena Williams.
Since 1988, Sabalenka is the fifth player to reach 5+ Grand Slam finals as World No. 1 after Steffi Graf (20), Serena (14), Monica Seles and Martina Hingis (nine each).
Sabalenka is also the first female or male player in the Open Era to reach 8+ consecutive Slam finals on hard court, surpassing the seven reached by Graf (US 1987-90), Hingis (AO 1997-00) and Novak Djokovic (US 2010-13).
Twitter Post
World No. 1s!
Current No. 1 vs the incoming No. 1.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 11, 2026
For a US Open title 🏆 pic.twitter.com/srEEKJMepQ