Elena Rybakina advances to her first US Open final and will face Aryna Sabalenka

World No.2 Elena Rybakina, assured of climbing to first place on Monday, qualified on Thursday for her first final at the US Open, where she will face double title holder Aryna Sabalenka (1st).

The 27-year-old Kazakhstani overthrew the American Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. She will try in the final on Saturday to win her second Grand Slam title of the year after the Australian Open in January. She beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final in Melbourne, before losing twice to the Belarusian in March during the American tour, in the final in Indian Wells and in the semi-final in Miami (WTA 1000).

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On the Arthur-Ashe court Thursday evening, Coco Gauff was very offensive and converted her second break point to lead 4 games to 2 after a completely unscrewed forehand from the Kazakhstani. The winner in New York in 2023 then folded the set thanks to a winning service in a shutout in 38 minutes.

A 3rd set under tension

Rybakina woke up in the second set and converted her first break point of the match after a series of unforced errors from Gauff. The Floridian recovered two games later before sinking, offering a set point after a double fault, converted in stride.

The tension rose a notch in the third set but it was Rybakina who broke the first, thanks to a new series of unforced errors from Gauff on the forehand (15 in the match), to lead 5 games to 3. With her back to the wall, the American took all the risks when Rybakina was serving for the match and broke immediately after the 25th unforced error from the Kazakhstani on the backhand, to the applause of Central.

A short-lived respite since Rybakina found success again and earned herself two match points thanks to a climb to the net, before concluding the match in 2h08 after a missed smash from Gauff.