Elena Rybakina Breaks Sabalenka's US Open Streak in Final

Aryna Sabalenka’s grip on the US Open is gone. Not loosened. Broken.

Elena Rybakina, cool when it mattered most and ruthless when the match caught fire, ended Sabalenka’s bid for a third straight title in New York with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory at Flushing Meadows.

For two of the game’s heaviest hitters, this was never going to be subtle. From the first ball, it was a contest of first strikes and nerve, the world’s top two women trading blows in a final that swung violently before Rybakina slammed the door.

She did it on her terms, too. Championship point. A booming ace down the middle, line painted, no debate. Sabalenka could only watch as Rybakina sealed the title and the winner’s cheque of AU$7.6 million.

Sabalenka’s fightback, then a collapse

Sabalenka had looked increasingly agitated long before that final ace. The defending champion sprayed unforced errors at key moments, her timing off just enough to let Rybakina build momentum. Each missed forehand, each rushed backhand, added to the tension.

She still refused to fold.

After dropping the opening set 6-4, Sabalenka clawed her way back in the second, finally finding enough depth and aggression to disrupt Rybakina’s rhythm. The Belarusian dragged the match into a decider, keeping her three-peat dream alive and briefly flipping the pressure back onto the Kazakh star.

But the revival didn’t last.

Rybakina took command early in the third, tightening her game as Sabalenka’s began to fray again. The rallies grew shorter, the scoreboard harsher. Sabalenka’s errors returned, Rybakina’s composure held, and the final set turned into a statement: 6-2, emphatic and deserved.

A broken racquet, and a brutal verdict

When the last point landed and Rybakina turned to her team, arms raised in celebration, Sabalenka’s frustration finally boiled over. She hurled her racquet across the court. The impact was enough to snap it.

Australian great Todd Woodbridge, watching on Nine, did not sugarcoat it.

“That is what Aryna Sabalenka thought about that performance. Broken, smashed,” he said. “That is something that she clearly still hasn’t got control of, the emotions in the big matches. It is never easy losing, there is no doubt about that.

“But she let her opponent know in the second set that she was feeling the heat. Great champions don’t really carry themselves like that.”

After retrieving the shattered racquet, Sabalenka walked to the net and embraced Rybakina. The anger gave way to something else: the sting of a chance lost on one of her favourite stages.

Tears on the mic, and a champion in full flight

The emotion followed her into the runners-up ceremony. Sabalenka tried to hold back tears as she addressed the crowd.

“Thank you everyone for your support. It was amazing playing in a tournament with you all,” she began.

“I am disappointed but I want to congratulate Elena on a great year. I wish I could’ve performed a little bit better, but I guess there’s next year.”

For Rybakina, this was more than a single night’s triumph. This title is the third grand slam of her career, adding the US Open to the Australian Open crown she claimed earlier this year and the Wimbledon breakthrough she produced in 2022. Only Roland-Garros now sits outside her collection.

She admitted she hadn’t arrived in New York expecting this kind of run, not with an Achilles problem shadowing her build-up.

“It’s tough to find words right now, I didn’t expect nothing like this coming to this tournament,” she said, trophy in hand. “I was dealing with (an Achilles) injury, but everything aligned together on my side. Aryna you’re a great champion, you push me to such limits.

“It’s just incredible, I’m falling in love with New York more and more. This atmosphere is just unbelievable and doesn’t feel real right now.”

On a night that began as Sabalenka’s shot at history, it was Rybakina who walked away with it — a third major, a growing legacy, and the sense that the balance of power at the top of the women’s game has shifted again.

Next, the US Open hands the stage to the men, with Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev set to decide the final piece of this New York fortnight on Monday morning AEST.