Elena Rybakina Claims First US Open Title in Star-Studded Final
Under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, with New York humming and the celebrity rows packed, Elena Rybakina walked through the noise and took the biggest hard-court prize of her career.
She didn’t just beat Aryna Sabalenka. She dethroned a two-time defending champion in a three-set arm wrestle, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, to claim her first US Open crown, a third Grand Slam title overall, and the No. 1 ranking in the world.
A final with star wattage on and off the court
This was tennis wrapped in Hollywood gloss.
Pink, Andrew Garfield, and Amy Adams were among the faces lighting up the stands on Saturday night in New York. The cameras kept drifting from the baseline exchanges to the front rows, where the A‑list treated the women’s final like the hottest ticket in town.
Pink, 47 and unmistakable, watched on in heart-shaped red-tinted sunglasses and a denim jacket, laughing with Amy Adams and Elizabeth Banks as the match swung from one end to the other. Her appearance came just a day after she publicly addressed backlash over her criticism of Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian performances and her repost calling for him to be removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour. The off‑court storm followed her into the stadium, but on this night she was just another fan locked into a three-set thriller.
Andrew Garfield worked the blue carpet before taking his seat inside. The We Live in Time star kept it low-key in a navy zip-up jacket, matching pants, and sunglasses, a subdued look against the spectacle on court.
Paris Hilton arrived with husband Carter Reum, settling in to watch Rybakina and Sabalenka trade blows. Nearby, Jake Paul and his fiancée Jutta Leerdam followed the action but still found time to check their phones between points; at one changeover, Paul leaned in for a kiss, the kind of small moment that plays out quietly while the stadium roars around them.
Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon were also in the house, another power couple folded into the crowd, their reactions picked off by roving lenses whenever the rallies stretched and the tension spiked.
Elsewhere, Andy Cohen sat shoulder to shoulder with Diplo, an unlikely duo sharing the same vantage point on one of the biggest nights of the tennis year. Spike Lee, a fixture at New York sporting events, waved enthusiastically to the crowd, soaking up the atmosphere. Saturday Night Live’s Marcello Hernández added a dash of comedy-world presence to the mix.
Rybakina’s moment, framed by history
On court, Rybakina’s victory felt like a passing of the torch. In the stands, history was literally watching.
Billie Jean King, 82 now but forever synonymous with the fight that reshaped tennis, took her place among the guests. Her résumé still stuns: 12 Grand Slam singles titles, four of them at this very tournament. The crowd that once roared for her now rose for a new champion.
Two decades after her own breakthrough in New York, Maria Sharapova stepped back onto the US Open stage for the trophy ceremony. In 2006 she stood where Rybakina stood on Saturday night. This time, she was the one handing over the silverware, presenting Elena with the prize that confirmed her as both US Open champion and the sport’s new world No. 1.
Around them, the celebrity roll call kept growing. Abigail Spencer, Fran Drescher, and Tyriq Withers were among the other familiar faces scattered across the bowl of Arthur Ashe, adding to a guest list that had already swelled during the men’s semifinals, where Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Nicole Kidman, and more had turned the grounds into a red-carpet extension.
But when the final point landed and Sabalenka’s reign ended, the noise cut through the gloss. The stars, the cameras, the side stories — all of it faded for a moment as Rybakina stood alone at the center of the biggest tennis stadium in the world, a first US Open title in her hands and the No. 1 ranking now officially hers.
On a night when the sport courted Hollywood, it was the tennis that delivered the headline.
