Key events
Rybakina is also heading to the semi-finals, where she’ll face either Mirra Andreeva or Coco Gauff. They’re up next, so stay tuned.
So, Elena Rybakina ends Aryna Sabalenka’s run at the top of the rankings at 99 weeks. She also breaks the Swiatek-Sabalenka duopoly that has lasted since April 2022, when Ashleigh Barty retired as world No 1. There are only two other active players who have held the women’s No 1 ranking – Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova.
Elena Rybakina: “It’s tough to put into words, it was a really tough match, maybe not our best level but happy to make it through.” She adds that the bright sun and shadows were bothering her in the first set. “I didn’t start well, I’ve played all my matches at night so I had to adjust, and I was thinking very negative. I’m super happy.”
On being world No 1: “It’s just a number right now – my goal is to win this tournament and I’m in the semi-finals. [Being world No 1] is an amazing achievement for me but I’m focusing on my next game, relaxing and trying to recover tomorrow.”
Elena Rybakina beats Zheng Qinwen to become world No 1
Rybakina blasts through the first two points, but there is a twitch at 30-0 as she misfires into the net. A huge serve out wide proves unreturnable, though. Rybakina has two match points – and she claims victory, and the world No 1 ranking, when Zheng nets!
Final score: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 Rybakina.
Rybakina breaks! Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-5 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
Having dug herself out of that hole, Zheng hits a wild effort out of court – and then a double fault as she is forced to be aggressive on second serve. It’s a real shame if Zheng goes out like that, but Rybakina will have new balls to serve this out.
Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-4 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
Now it’s Zheng’s turn to wobble, Rybakina’s vicious returns claiming the first two points – and she has three break points when Zheng nets. But Zheng saves all three, the last with a forehand winner down the line! Deuce …
Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-4 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
If Zheng can break here, she would get the opportunity to serve out in the next game – and she earns a break point with a looping, two-handed backhand winner down the line! Zheng gets a look at a similar shot with Rybakina up at the net – but it lands inches long. From deuce, Rybakina powers through and we’re level again.
Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-3 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
An easier hold for Zheng here, the first serve firing with more accuracy. She holds to 15 when Rybakina can’t keep a cross-court effort in bounds.
Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 3-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Rybakina rattles through another quick hold to keep the pressure on Zheng; the No 2 seed is getting through her service games in this set at an average of two minutes.
Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 3-2 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
At 30-all, Zheng goes all-in with a ripping forehand that clips the baseline, but Rybakina hits back with a one-two punch, and Zheng offers up a break point as an overcooked shot drifts long. Rybakina gets her chance but misses the outside line with a floaty forehand. Zheng carves out the hold with a bit of serve-and-volley; she’s under more pressure on serve but is holding on.
Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 2-2 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Rybakina is back to her calm, controlled default mode and rolls through this service hold with little fuss.
There are six women left in the US Open draw, and they are ranked world Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … and 121. But Zheng is, of course, much better than her injury-affected ranking suggests. Rybakina will become the new world No 1 if she wins this match but if she loses, and Gauff beats Andreeva, she’ll be in the strange position of hoping Zheng goes all the way in New York, in order to keep Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff from taking top spot.
Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 2-1 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
Rybakina punishes a slightly mishit Zheng backhand with a ruthless winner down the line, but Zheng finds enough first-serve power to hold from 30-all.
Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 1-1 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
An untimely double-fault at 30-0 up is the only blemish on Rybakina’s serve, as she holds with an ace.
Thanks, Katy. After Tuesday’s high drama, we’ve got another deciding set on our hands. Zheng needs to get a game on the board, and she does so by holding to 15.
Rybakina wins the second set 6-1
So Rybakina is serving for the set … she’s under pressure at 30-all … but is still able to swing freely as she crushes a cross-court forehand winner … and the set is secured with a serve out wide! Rybakina has responded to going a set down, and this match, as all four of yesterday’s quarter-finals did, is going. The. Distance. And Niall is here to guide you through the decider …
Rybakina breaks: Zheng 6-3, 1-5 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
So Rybakina holds on to her break – and is pushing and probing for a double break at 15-30 on Zheng’s serve. The pair trade a few moon balls before Rybakina injects more power and elicits the error. 15-40. Zheng finds a big first serve when it matters to fend off the first break point – before Rybakina strikes on the second, dealing with a net cord well to drill an unreturned forehand deep to Zheng’s left!
Second set: Zheng* 6-3, 1-4 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Perhaps I am jumping the gun, because Zheng has a break-back point at 30-40 after Rybakina misses five first serves in a row … but Zheng doesn’t take it. Rybakina is back in a serving groove as she takes a short, sharp point at deuce and then crunches down a serve that Zheng can only frame towards the stands.
Second set: Zheng 6-3, 1-3 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
Alas, we won’t see another comeback from 5-0 down, because Zheng holds to love. Not getting too ahead of ourselves, but these two have already played two three-setters against each other this year, with Rybakina triumphing in both, on the clay in Madrid and the hard courts in Doha. But those were when Zheng was earlier in her return from elbow surgery. The former world No 4 has far more momentum on her side this time … but how much energy does she have left having played seven matches already as a qualifier?
Second set: Zheng* 6-3, 0-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
After their almost flawness numbers for the first half of the opening set, both players’ first-serve percentages has dropped below 50%. But Rybakina still finds a way to 40-15 in this game, before coughing up a third double fault and then balancing that out with an ace. Rybakina consolidates the break to lead 3-0 … but Zheng is probably enjoying this, hoping it’ll become 5-0 so she can do what she does best.
Rybakina breaks: Zheng 6-3, 0-2 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
I wonder if the fact that the world No 1 ranking is on the line today added to Rybakina’s agitation in that first set. As I said, it’s so unusual for her to show so much frustration on court. Zheng looks comfortable in this game at 40-15, but Rybakina comes back at her for deuce. Zheng is yet to be broken, but she’s having to work harder and harder for the holds, and it seems only a matter of time before Rybakina does secure a breakthrough. And it comes with a flat forehand bullet down the line … followed by another forehand winner, as Rybakina rips away the short ball! Game on.
Second set: Zheng* 6-3, 0-1 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Zheng is in slightly unfamiliar territory here, having been the frontrunner throughout so far, rather than having to pull off any escape acts from 5-0 down. But Rybakina is serving first in the second set, and she doesn’t mess around, whizzing through to love and pinging away two aces in the process.
Zheng grabs an energy drink, munches on a banana, before taking her leave and walking off court. Rybakina, meanwhile, having lost her first set this tournament, is having a heated discussion with her coach. She doesn’t seem to agree with what he’s telling her to do. But she wasn’t far off in that set; she had five break points in that final game after all.
Zheng wins the first set 6-3!
… Rybakina, whose face hardly ever betrays any emotion on court, is now chuntering to herself and her coaching team … but it rouses her into action, as she saves another set point with a clean winner! But soon enough Zheng has set point No 4 … and the game is secured after 14 minutes (!!) – and with it the set – as Rybakina can’t get Zheng’s stinging serve down the T back into play! That game definitely matched yesterday’s drama.
The break means Zheng is serving for the first set … but her first serve deserts her. At 0-30 down she slides a timely second-serve ace out wide, but Rybakina pulls off the pass for two break-back points at 15-40. The first is fought off with an ace … and the second with a backhand bullet down the line! That was clutch hitting from Zheng. Deuce. Advantage Zheng, a first set point. Deuce, advantage Rybakina, a third BP. Deuce, advantage Rybakina, a fourth BP. My computer clearly can’t handle the pressure because it briefly freezes. When it starts behaving again, it’s BP No 5 … which Rybakina doesn’t take either …
Zheng breaks: Zheng* 5-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Rybakina has won every point when she’s landed her first serve (Zheng has won all but one), and that record continues on the opening point, before Rybakina’s rhythm stutters, party because of a missed drive volley, and soon it’s 30-all. Zheng then zooms forward to the short ball, having worked so hard to wrest control in the rally after a serve that put her on the back foot, and it’s the first break point of this quarter-final at 30-40! Zheng inexplicably misses a backhand return off a second serve … but quickly puts aside that setback to create another break point … and this one she takes when Rybakina snatches at a forehand! Rybakina, so peerless on serve during this tournament, has been broken!
First set: Zheng 4-3 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
15-0, 30-0, 40-0, game. A second successive hold to love for Zheng, as the servers’ supremacy continues. Over on Court 12, Britain’s Andy Lapthorne has lost 6-2, 6-1 in the quad wheelchair singles after a tough first-round draw against the top seed and winner of all three grand slams so far this year, Niels Vink.
First set: Zheng* 3-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
The early proof in this match – if we needed it after Zheng’s wins over Keys and Swiatek in the previous two rounds – is that the 23-year-old is most definitely back in the mix, after her elbow surgery last year. So that’s great news for the women’s game – which is already so stacked at the top. And with Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula, Gauff and Andreeva remaining in the running for the title in New York, the world’s top five are still standing, in contrast to the men, with only Zverev and Shelton left from the top 10. Rybakina holds to 15 to level once more.
First set: Zheng 3-2 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
Zheng, now in the sun, puts Rybakina firmly in the shade as she zooms to 40-0. Make that game. Five games and no break points so far. Both are locked in on serve and, the way this opening set is going, it could well come down to just the one break – or a tie-break. Though they’ll be going some to match the drama of all of yesterday’s breakers.
First set: Zheng* 2-2 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Rybakina won 90% of her first-serve points in her 6-1, 6-4 demolition of Osaka and she’s yet to drop a point on serve in this quarter-final, gliding to 30-0. A netted forehand in response to Zheng’s return, however, ends the Russian-born Kazakhstani’s perfect record … and perhaps that’s on her mind on the next point, because she throws in her first double fault. Zheng can’t capitalise on the 30-all opportunity, conceding the rally cheaply when she blinks on her backhand, and another errant strike beyond the baseline allows Rybakina to hold.
First set: Zheng 2-1 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
Rybakina possesses the superior serve – it’s arguably the best in the business – but Zheng can match Rybakina’s easy power from the back of the court, which she does to get to 40-15. With Zheng’s half of the court entirely in the shade and Rybakina’s in the sun, it’s hard to follow the course of the ball on television, but no such problems for Zheng on court, as she asserts her authority from deuce for another hold.
First set: Zheng* 1-1 Rybakina (*denotes next server)
Zheng shaded the support in the opening game; the Chinese player is so popular wherever she goes. So the crowd is a little quieter as Rybakina races through her first service game to love. Both these players are used to the big stage and they’ve settled in quickly here.
First set: Zheng 1-0 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)
There are no signs of any early stage fright from Zheng – who’s appearing in her third consecutive US Open quarter-final (surprisingly it’s a first for Rybakina) – as she zips to 30-0 on serve. She’s then smart to Rybakina’s short, angled backhand on the third point … as she sprints forward and dispatches a backhand winner down the line. And she claims an assured opening hold to love when Rybakina rams a forehand just long.
Rybakina made quite a statement in the last 16 too, when she was virtually flawless against Naomi Osaka, and she has the double motivation today of wanting to break new ground by reaching the US Open semi-finals and securing the world No 1 ranking. Beat Zheng and Rybakina is guaranteed to knock Aryna Sabalenka off the summit and claim the top spot for the first time in her career.
Rybakina has won four of her five meetings with Zheng, including two three-set victories this year. But Zheng was earlier in her comeback from elbow surgery then, the 2024 Olympic champion is a totally different proposition now, carrying the momentum of seven successive match wins in New York having come through qualifying – and the belief she can turn around any deficit after coming from 5-0 down in sets against both Madison Keys in the third round and Iga Swiatek in the last 16.
Here come Zheng and Rybakina, Zheng stepping on to court wearing headphones, not that there’s much noise to drown out yet at 11.35am New York time. Both already look extremely focused with their game faces on.
Already today: Britain’s Gregory Slade and Andy Lapthorne are under way in the wheelchair quad singles first round, with Slade an early break down, 2-0, against Argentina’s Gonzalo Lazarte and Lapthorne on serve at 2-2 against the top seed Niels Vink. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid play later, as do several Brits in the men’s doubles: Henry Patten with Finland’s Harri Heliovaara (the Wimbledon champs), Joe Salisbury with the American Rajeev Ram, and Neal Skupski with another American, Christian Harrison. And Skupski (last year’s runner-up) and Harrison get to close the schedule on Arthur Ashe tonight.
Plus yesterday’s other reports:
And Andrew Lawrence’s view from Flushing Meadows too:
Here’s Tumaini’s take on the match, which he probably wrote with matchsticks propping up his eyelids:
As for Shelton, the greatest win of his career leaves him with a semi-final against his friend/Big Foe. If he can recharge for Friday – and it’s a big if – he has the weapons to outgun Tiafoe, with an American finalist guaranteed. Come Sunday, perhaps we’ll even stop talking about Andy Roddick in 2003 and that Great American Drought for the men.
So where does Alcaraz’s dethroning leave him? Given it was his first tournament in four and a half months, and he was able to play without any pain in his right wrist, he’s still viewing it as a successful fortnight that he can build on. “As I said before the tournament, my expectation was to go there, compete, play in these kind of matches for me being healthy,” he said after his defeat. “It was close. So I’m not going to be disappointed about don’t getting the win at the end. I’m just happy, proud about myself, about how I fought. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.” And that’s good news for tennis – because it just hasn’t been the same without him this summer.
Today’s order of play – Arthur Ashe
11.30am New York/4.30pm BST
Women’s singles quarter-final
Zheng Qinwen (Chn) v Elena Rybakina (Kaz, 2)
Women’s singles quarter-final
Mirra Andreeva (5) v Coco Gauff (US, 4)
Men’s singles quarter-final
Karen Khachanov v Alexander Blockx (Bel, 28)
7.30pm New York/12.30am BST
Men’s singles quarter-final
Alexander Zverev (Ger, 1) v Botic van de Zandschulp (Ned)
Men’s doubles quarter-final
Simone Bolelli (It, 4) and Andrea Vavassori (It, 4) v Christian Harrison (US, 5) and Neal Skupski (GB, 5)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the US Open day 11 – which begins less than eight hours after Ben Shelton struck his final ace to take out Carlos Alcaraz on day 10. Are you ready for some more tennis? Of course you are!
This may be the city that never sleeps but the 3.33am finish – the latest in the tournament’s history and the fourth time this fortnight that play stretched beyond 2am – once again raises questions about the demands tennis places on its athletes. But organisers could not have foreseen the day’s extraordinary drama, with all four quarter-finals on Arthur Ashe going the distance, lasting a combined total of nearly 14 hours, and three being decided in a final-set tie-break. From Aryna Sabalenka’s high-quality win over the Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, to the two American derbies as Frances Tiafoe came back from two sets down against Alex Michelsen and Jessica Pegula pulled off a recovery of her own against Emma Navarro, to that climax as Alcaraz’s title defence came to an end, the spectacle never let up. I can’t remember another day of tennis quite like it.
And now here we go again, with another compelling cast list and plenty of sub plots. Elena Rybakina faces Zheng Qinwen knowing she must never, ever take a 5-0 lead over the Olympic champion if she wants to secure the quarter-final win that will wrest the world No 1 ranking from Sabalenka; Coco Gauff takes on Mirra Andreeva in the battle of the former prodigies turned grand slam champions (if you can call Andreeva a former prodigy at the age of 19); Alexander Blockx, the new kid on the, erm, block, plays the resurgent Russian Karen Khachanov – though there are concerns about Blockx’s fitness after a painful rib injury in the last 16; and Alexander Zverev will be working the night session once more, with Botic van de Zandschulp, but the French Open champ does have the comfort of knowing that for the second time in three slams he won’t have to come up against an Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner-shaped wall if he’s to win the title.
Play gets under way: at 11.30am New York time/4.30pm BST. So you’ve just about got time to prepare 23 coffees and then let’s do this!