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.
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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.”
The win marks the 74th Grand Slam win of Rybakina’s career, which includes two title runs. It even extends her season record to 47 wins, only Jessica Pegula has more wins than her this season, leading with 50 wins.
She will face either Coco Gauff or Mirra Andreeva for a place in her second US Open final, a fifth career Grand Slam semifinal overall.
This is a developing story…