Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will contest the 2026 US Open final on Saturday, September 12. Both defeated American opponents on Thursday night, September 10, on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Sabalenka opened the evening by beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 20 minutes. The two-time defending champion reached her fourth consecutive final in New York.
Her serve underpinned the result: Sabalenka faced just one break point and was never broken. After taking the first set in its final game, she pulled away in the second. According to the WTA, she became the first player in the Open Era to reach eight consecutive Grand Slam finals on hard courts.
Rybakina needed three sets to defeat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach her first US Open final. The victory ended Gauff's 11-match winning streak, which began during her Cincinnati title run.
The comeback brought obstacles right to the end. In the second set, Rybakina led 4-1, allowed Gauff to draw level and broke again to close it out. In the third, she reached 5-3 but lost serve while trying to finish the match. She responded with another break in the next game to advance.
It will be their third Grand Slam final against each other. Sabalenka won the 2023 Australian Open title match; Rybakina won this year's edition. In the overall head-to-head reported by the WTA, Sabalenka leads 10-7.
The final is scheduled for 4 p.m. in New York, 5 p.m. in Brasilia, on Saturday. A Sabalenka victory would bring her fifth major title; a Rybakina win would deliver her third. The ranking change is already settled: Rybakina will become world No. 1 on Monday, September 14, regardless of the result.
Sources: WTA semifinal reports and final preview published September 11, 2026; US Open semifinal roundup from September 10, 2026. The two embedded videos feature match highlights from the official US Open Tennis Championships channel.