Elena Rybakina becomes new World No.1, beats Qinwen Zheng to reach US Open semis
Elena Rybakina became the new World No.1 in women’s tennis as she overcame Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to make it to the semi-finals of the US Open. Rybakina will officially dethrone Aryna Sabalenka as the queen at the top of the WTA Rankings as the new update will happen on Monday, September 14.
Rybakina had to battle the hard-hitting Zheng, who came into the contest after pulling off a giant upset over Iga Swiatek. The Kazakhstani star found herself battling the sun, the shadows at the Arthur Ashe stadium and the powerful aces from Zheng early on, but she found her groove in the second set.
The third one was also challenging for the new World No.1, but she was able to secure 11 out of the next 15 points with the score at 4-4 to gain a valuable break point and then serve out for the win. She will face either Coco Gauff or Mirra Andreeva in the next round.
“It’s just a number right now,” claimed Rybakina after the match was done. “Of course, I’m in the semis. My goal is to win the tournaments I played.
“It’s an amazing achievement but we know how quickly everything can change in tennis, ranking wise, during the match. So I feel like I just need to focus on my game and try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”
HOW THE MATCH UNFOLDED
This was the first time Rybakina has reached the US Open semifinals for the first time in her career, surpassing her previous best performance at Flushing Meadows, which came with a fourth-round appearance last year.
The US Open has traditionally been Rybakina’s least successful Grand Slam. Before Wednesday’s match, she had won only 57 percent of her matches at the tournament. Her latest victory, however, puts her one step closer to adding another major title to her collection.
Rybakina has already claimed Grand Slam trophies at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Winning in New York would complete three quarters of a career Grand Slam, leaving only the French Open absent from her collection.
The path ahead promises to be considerably tougher, with several of the tournament’s leading contenders also reaching the last eight and set to feature in the latter stages.
Rybakina’s comeback against Zheng Qinwen highlighted the resilience that has helped her reach this point. Zheng made the brighter start, with the pair exchanging the opening seven games before Zheng finally secured a break to move 5-3 ahead.
Rybakina had chances to respond immediately, but Zheng survived a lengthy game featuring multiple advantages before eventually claiming the set 6-3.
The second set was a complete turnaround. Rybakina found greater consistency behind her serve, while Zheng struggled to land her first deliveries. Rybakina took advantage, breaking twice and racing through the set 6-1 to force a decider.
Neither player gave much away early in the third, with the first eight games going with serve. The breakthrough finally arrived in the ninth game when Rybakina managed to break Zheng.
Serving for the match in the next game, the newly crowned world No. 1 held her nerve to close out the contest and secure her place in the semifinals.
– Ends
