Elena Rybakina is the new queen of the US Open — and, starting Monday, the new world No. 1. The Kazakh star beat top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in Saturday's women's singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, winning her third career Grand Slam title and snapping Sabalenka's bid for a third straight US Open crown.

The result also ends one of the longest reigns in recent WTA history: Sabalenka had held the No. 1 ranking for 99 consecutive weeks before Saturday's loss, according to Al Jazeera's match coverage. Rybakina will officially take over the top spot when the new WTA rankings are released Monday.

How It Unfolded

Rybakina, seeded outside the top spot but playing arguably the best tennis of her career over the tournament's second week, took the first set behind her trademark first-serve power before Sabalenka rallied to force a decider. The Belarusian saved break points and threw haymakers of her own in the second set, but Rybakina steadied in the third, breaking twice to close it out in front of a packed Ashe crowd that had shown up expecting history for Sabalenka instead.

SABALENKA'S 99-WEEK REIGN AT NO. 1 IS OVER

It is Rybakina's third major title overall, following her 2022 Wimbledon championship, and her first hard-court Slam. Yahoo Sports' live coverage of the final noted it was the second time this year Rybakina has beaten Sabalenka in a major final, having also defeated her at the Australian Open.

Reaction

Sabalenka, who was chasing what would have been a historic US Open three-peat, had reached the final by grinding past Amanda Anisimova in a marathon semifinal earlier in the week. The runner-up finish keeps her sitting on three major titles overall but marks her second straight loss to Rybakina on tennis' biggest stages this season — a rivalry that has increasingly defined the top of the women's game.

For Rybakina, long regarded by rivals and analysts as one of the tour's most dangerous ball-strikers but an inconsistent presence at the very top of the rankings, Saturday's win is validation of a season-long climb. She had already reached the semifinals or better at three of the four majors this year before Saturday's title run.

What's Next

The men's singles final follows Sunday, with an all-American matchup already guaranteeing a first US champion in that category in years. Rybakina and Sabalenka are both expected to headline the WTA's fall Asian swing before the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh, where the two could meet again with the No. 1 ranking very much still in play for the rest of the season.