Elena Rybakina just had to reach the semifinals to claim the No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka, and she did that, battling past Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach her first US Open semifinal. The ranking will be effective when it updates on Monday, September 14. The ranking will be effective when it updates on Monday, September 14, making Rybakina the 30th woman in history to hold the top spot and the first man or woman from her country.

The Kazakh had to grind against Zheng Qinwen, who was riding on a five-match winning streak which included two unreal comebacks against players like Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek. Zheng broke through at 4-3 in a grueling 14-minute game to take the first set, saving four break points along the way, and the qualifier continued to push Rybakina throughout. But the Kazakh raised her level sharply in the second set, closing it 6-1 and taking the match into a decider. Both players were level till 4-4, and then Rybakina broke the serve after deuce, and then served for the match to complete a comeback 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Rybakina admitted the occasion, and her own head, had gotten in the way more than she would have liked in the on-court interview. 

“It’s tough to find words, it’s been a very difficult match and honestly a lot of nerves, of course, and yeah it wasn’t maybe the highest level, but I’m glad that I pushed through and thank you so much guys for coming, supporting,” she said. “It’s been an early match in my head, I was complaining a little bit about the sun, shadow, a lot of things, it was definitely a battle inside me but I’m glad that I pushed all the negative thoughts away and I kept on fighting, and yeah, again, super happy to be in the semis here.”

“It’s just a number right now, my goal is to win any tournament I play,” she said. “We know anything can change so quickly in tennis, a ranking, or during a match, so I need to focus on my tennis, recover and enjoy tomorrow.”

This victory was Rybakina’s fifth against Zheng in their six career meetings and extended her winning streak to three consecutive wins against the Chinese star. Zheng’s lone victory in the series came back in 2022. Their rivalry has also settled into a pattern of tight, extended battles lately, with each of their last four meetings going the distance to three sets. 

The end of a historic reign

Aryna Sabalenka held the No. 1 spot for roughly 100 consecutive weeks, dating back to October 2024, defeating Elena Rybakina in the US Open quarterfinals. This stretch places her in the sixth-longest uninterrupted streak for holding the No.1 spot, alongside legends like Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, and Martina Navratilova. The 2026 season has been shaky for the Belarusian, facing unusual losses from unseeded players like Sara Bejlek and Hailey Baptiste, and Rybakina’s New York run finally put an end to that pressure. 

Kazakh’s journey to the highest ranks has been one of consistency, rather than a single stellar run. The win over Zheng marks the 74th Grand Slam match victory of her career, a total that includes titles at Wimbledon in 2022 and this year’s Australian Open, where she beat Sabalenka in the final after erasing a break deficit in the third set. She has also added a title in Stuttgart this season and a runner-up finish at the Toronto WTA 1000, as well as a quarterfinal appearance at Cincinnati, bringing her season wins to 47, second only to Jessica Pegula’s tour-leading 50.

She will be facing Coco Gauff in the semifinals, who triumphed over fifth seed Mirra Andreeva in three sets. This will only be their third meeting in their career, as the head-to-head stands at 1-1. The most recent encounter came at the Montreal semifinals, where Rybakina edged Gauff in three sets.