Making the case for Sabalenka and Rybakina in the US Open final WTA Tennis Rybakina ends Gauff's run, gets reigning champ Sabalenka in US Open final ESPN The crowd wanted Coco Gauff but got Elena Rybakina instead CNN 202...
More than seven months after Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina met in the final of the year's first major, on hard courts, they're set to meet again in the final of the year's last major, again on hard courts.
The major difference between then and now is that Rybakina, then ranked fifth in the PIF WTA Rankings, will be the new No. 1 next week, ending Sabalenka's 99-week streak at the top.
Will the results of their Australian Open final rematch, a come-from-behind win for Rybakina in Melbourne, flip as well?
We'll find out on Saturday when Rybakina and Sabalenka, the top two seeds in New York, meet in the US Open final (4 p.m. ET).
Sabalenka, looking for a three-peat in New York, booked her spot in her fourth consecutive US Open final with a dominant 7-5, 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula on Thursday night.
In the second semifinal, Rybakina came from a set down to beat home favorite Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first career US Open final.
Ahead of the final on Saturday, we make the case for both players.
After a season-long race, the world's top players converge in the California desert with the WTA's biggest title still to be won.
The Case for Sabalenka Sabalenka just seems to find another gear in New York.
The two-time defending champion arrived in Flushing Meadows last year without a Grand Slam title, feeling an immense pressure to win the US Open after disappointing near-misses (for her) in the previous three majors. She rose to the challenge, dropping just one set en route to the title.
She's followed a similar script this year. Coming off subpar results at Slams (again, for her ), and with many questioning her form heading into the US Open, she's played her best tennis since March. She's dropped just one set through her first six matches, and looked especially overpowering against Pegula. She admittedly feels some desperation right now, and that mindset appears to have her locked in.
"It kind of like feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, a last push of the season," Sabalenka told reporters on Thursday. "I wanted it badly, to go to the final, and of course I want to go all the way. The mentality was just, I'm ready. I'm ready for whatever it's going to take to get the win."
From Pegula's view across the net, it's perhaps the best Sabalenka has looked all year.
"I think that's probably the best match she's played this year," the third-seeded American said. "I mean, I thought her level was insanely high. ...She played insane. She played a super high level. Honestly, I don't really know if there was much I could do today."
Though five of her wins in the lead-up to the final have been routine, she's had the benefit of being tested. Sabalenka was pushed to a third-set super tiebreaker against Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals, ultimately gutting it out 10-7 to get a further confidence boost.
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