By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The stars aligned in Elena Rybakina’s favour for a U.S. Open triumph the Kazakh never expected on Saturday, as she leaves New York the champion and new world number one despite an injury that nearly derailed her campaign.
Rybakina beat the twice defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the trophy little more than three weeks after an ankle injury that forced her out of the Cincinnati tune-up tournament, raising serious questions over whether she would even compete in New York.
“I was so upset. I didn’t know actually how it’s going to be day by day. We arrive in New York. We did MRI. It didn’t look that great. We had to talk with a lot of doctors to get opinions (on) what we should do,” she said.
“For seven days I was just going from my hotel room to the gym, three hours there spending, a lot of recovery, treatments.”
Fears over her fitness slowly melted away through a series of comprehensive victories, as she beat twice winner Naomi Osaka to get past the fourth round for the first time and overcame the 2023 champion Coco Gauff in the semi-final.
And she marched confidently into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, having already assured an end to Sabalenka’s 99-week run at the top of the rankings.
“It’s tough to find words right now, honestly. I didn’t expect nothing like this coming to this tournament,” said Rybakina, after collecting her third major title and second of the season. “Somehow everything aligned together.”
The win marks the latest chapter in a prolific rivalry, the 18th meeting between the two players in a compelling cat-and-mouse saga.
Rybakina beat Sabalenka in the title match at the 2025 WTA Finals, before besting the Belarusian in the Australian Open final little more than two months later.
Sabalenka took the momentum back – for a handful of weeks, at least – as she beat the Kazakh in the Indian Wells final and in the penultimate stage in Miami.
“I don’t know what future will bring, but it’s always very difficult matches against Aryna, and I feel like we push each other to be better after such tough battles,” she told reporters.
“I feel like not only with her, with also other players, top players. You always want to try something new, to change in your game, to be better.
“I don’t know what future is going to bring, but I hope success and some more wins.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Kim Coghill)
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