Elena Rybakina Becomes World No. 1 After US Open Quarterfinal Victory
Elena Rybakina walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday as a contender. She walked out as the next world No. 1.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan survived a slow start and a fearless Zheng Qinwen, rallying for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in the US Open quarterfinals that did far more than book a semifinal spot. With that win, Rybakina mathematically locked up the top spot in the WTA rankings for the first time in her career, ending Aryna Sabalenka’s long reign at the summit.
She will be officially crowned on Monday. The message arrived early.
From flat start to ruthless response
For a set, Zheng owned the court.
The French Open champion from China came out swinging, ripping through the opener 6-3 and pushing Rybakina off the baseline with heavy, aggressive ball-striking. The Kazakh’s serve misfired, her timing lagged, and Zheng looked every bit like a player ready to crash the rankings party herself.
Then the match flipped.
Rybakina tightened her first serve, shortened the points, and began to dictate with that familiar, clean power. The second set became a statement: 6-1, brisk, almost clinical. Zheng, who had been bossing rallies, suddenly found herself reacting, chasing, forced into riskier corners of the court.
The decider carried the tension of the occasion. Zheng refused to go quietly, but Rybakina’s composure held. One break, guarded carefully, proved enough. She closed out the 6-4 third set with the calm of a player who has lived on big stages before — and expects to keep coming back.
A historic No. 1 for Kazakhstan
The win does more than extend Rybakina’s run in New York. It rewrites her country’s tennis history.
She becomes the first player from Kazakhstan, male or female, to rise to world No. 1 in singles, and the 30th woman ever to reach the top of the WTA rankings. For a nation that invested heavily in her development after she switched allegiance from Russia years ago, this is the ultimate validation.
At the same time, it brings an end to one of the longest modern runs at the top. Sabalenka’s streak of 99 consecutive weeks as world No. 1 is over, her total of 107 weeks at the summit placing her among the most enduring leaders in the sport. Only five women have held the position longer in a single uninterrupted stretch.
She had been in possession of the ranking since October 21, 2024. On Monday, the name above hers will change.
Gauff awaits in a blockbuster semifinal
The reward for Rybakina’s comeback is a semifinal that feels like a final in all but name: a showdown with Coco Gauff, the former US Open champion and the face of American tennis.
Gauff arrived in the last four the hard way. She stared down two match points against 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion from Russia, and somehow turned a lost cause into a 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 escape. The crowd roared, Gauff surged, and Andreeva’s dream run ended under the lights.
“Elena is the new world number one,” Gauff said afterward. “It’s going to be a tough match. These are the moments you live for.”
It’s a matchup that pits Rybakina’s flat, penetrating power and unflappable demeanor against Gauff’s athleticism, counterpunching, and home-court energy. Rybakina arrives with a new title attached to her name. Gauff brings the swagger of a champion who has already lifted this trophy.
Number one, but not done
For many players, reaching No. 1 is the destination. Rybakina framed it as a checkpoint.
“It’s just a number right now. My goal is to win the tournaments which I play,” she said. “It’s an amazing achievement, but you know how quickly everything can change in tennis ranking-wise.”
That mindset has defined her season. All year, she has stalked Sabalenka at the top of the standings, one of the few consistent threats to the Belarusian’s grip on the ranking. She arrived in New York as one of three women with a realistic shot at the summit, alongside Jessica Pegula and Gauff.
Pegula and Gauff both needed perfection: win the US Open and hope Rybakina fell before the semifinals. Rybakina’s run to the last four closed that door and pushed her beyond reach.
Now she chases something bigger than a number next to her name.
She already owns two Grand Slam titles — Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open earlier this year — and stands two wins away from a third major, this time on American soil. The ranking confirms what her tennis has been saying for months: she is one of the central forces of the era.
Sabalenka still looming
Even as Sabalenka’s 99-week streak at No. 1 ends, her presence in this tournament remains imposing. She faces Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal, with the possibility of a US Open final that would echo this year’s Australian Open.
Back in Melbourne, Rybakina and Sabalenka went three bruising sets in the title match. Rybakina won that one, a marker in a rivalry that keeps gaining weight with every major they share.
If both win their semifinals, New York will get the rematch, this time with the roles reversed: Rybakina as the new No. 1, Sabalenka as the hunter.
First, though, Rybakina must walk into another packed stadium and face Gauff, the crowd, and the expectations that come with the sport’s most coveted ranking.
She wanted tournaments, not numbers. Now she has both on the line in the biggest week of the season.
