Elena Rybakina Set for World No. 1 After US Open Win

Elena Rybakina will rise to world No. 1 for the first time after battling back to defeat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open 2026 quarter-finals. The second-seeded Kazakh player won in two hours and 14 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium, sealing a place in the semi-finals and guaranteeing that she will replace Aryna Sabalenka at the top of next week’s rankings.

The victory is a landmark result for Rybakina, who had been one of four players still able to leave Flushing Meadows as the world’s top-ranked woman. Her win ended the No. 1 hopes of Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, while also putting Rybakina within two victories of another Grand Slam title.

Rybakina rallies from difficult opening set

Zheng made the stronger start and took the opening set 6-3, but Rybakina responded emphatically in the second. She levelled the match with a 6-1 set before edging the deciding set 6-4 to reach the last four in New York.

The turnaround carried extra significance because Rybakina had been 0-6 in previous US Open matches when losing the first set. Against Zheng, she reversed that record at a crucial moment in the tournament and turned an early deficit into the win that secured her ranking breakthrough.

Rybakina said the No. 1 status was not her focus during the contest. “It’s just a number right now,” she said after the match. “Of course I’m in the semis. It’s an amazing achievement (but) during the match I feel like I just need to focus on my game.”

The 27-year-old also acknowledged that she had struggled with her start in an earlier match than those she had played previously at the tournament. “It’s tough to find words. It was a difficult match… I didn’t start that well, I was too much negative,” Rybakina said.

“It has been an early match. In my head I was complaining about the shadow … I’m glad I pushed all the negative thoughts away. I just kept telling myself: ‘Keep fighting’.”

For Zheng, the defeat denied the 23-year-old reigning Olympic champion a first US Open semi-final. Her only previous Grand Slam final appearance came at the 2024 Australian Open, where she was beaten in the title match.

World No. 1 confirmed as semi-final awaits

Rybakina’s ranking rise is confirmed regardless of what follows in the remaining rounds. She will become the new world No. 1 next week, replacing Sabalenka, after producing the key result required in the quarter-finals.

Her next opponent will be decided by the later quarter-final between fourth-ranked American Coco Gauff and fifth-ranked Mirra Andreeva of Russia. Gauff is a two-time major champion, while 19-year-old Andreeva arrives as the reigning French Open champion.

The other semi-final will feature Sabalenka against third-ranked American Jessica Pegula. While Sabalenka can no longer retain the top ranking through this tournament, her meeting with Pegula remains part of the final-four schedule.

Rybakina is pursuing her third Grand Slam singles title. She won Wimbledon in 2022 and added this year’s Australian Open, and her US Open run has now delivered both a semi-final place and the first world No. 1 ranking of her career. After recovering from the loss of the opening set against Zheng, she has given herself the opportunity to add another major trophy to an already historic week.