Representing Kazakhstan, 27-year-old Elena Rybakina, a native of Russia, won the US Open tennis championship in women's singles for the first time in her career by defeating 28-year-old Belarusian athlete Aryna Sabalenka in the final on the night of Sunday, September 13. The latter competed in the tournament under a neutral flag. The match ended with a score of 6:4, 5:7, 6:2. Rybakina managed to break Sabalenka's 19-match winning streak at the US Open, which began after her lost final in 2023 and brought the Belarusian two titles. Additionally, just a few days before the final, the Kazakhstani tennis player surpassed Sabalenka in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings and became the world number one. The Belarusian had maintained her lead for 99 consecutive weeks. "This is amazing. It's still hard to realize what has happened. So many achievements in these few weeks. I am very happy, very proud of the work done. It's just incredible," Rybakina said after the match. ## In January, Rybakina defeated Sabalenka in the Australian Open final This victory for Rybakina over Sabalenka in the US Open final marked the Kazakh athlete's second Grand Slam final in which she managed to defeat the Belarusian in 2026. In January, Rybakina overcame Sabalenka in the Australian Open final. This victory then became the Kazakh representative's second at Grand Slam tournaments: in 2022, she became the champion of the Wimbledon tournament in the UK. Sabalenka won the Australian tournament twice: in 2023 and 2024. Moreover, in the first final, she defeated Rybakina. The loss in the 2026 final became Sabalenka's second consecutive defeat: in 2025, she lost to American Madison Keys. Furthermore, the current season has been the first for Sabalenka since 2022, during which she did not win any Grand Slam tournaments. In addition to losses in the finals of the Australian Open and US Open, she lost in the quarterfinals of the French Open (Roland Garros) and in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
