Gauff, the World No. 4, took the opening set 6-3. Rybakina responded by winning the second set 6-4 to level the match, then closed it out with another 6-4 in the third.
No point-by-point statistics are available from the sourced reports: no aces, no break points, no unforced error counts. What is confirmed is the scoreline, the venue, and the outcome: Rybakina through in three sets after dropping the first.
What it means
For Rybakina, this is new territory. She has never reached a US Open final before, and Saturday will be her first. Coming into the tournament she sat at World No. 2 with 8,141 ranking points, as of the WTA rankings dated 31 August 2026. That ranking reflects a player who has been among the tour’s best for some time, but a US Open final was still a gap on the résumé until Thursday night.
For Gauff, the tournament ends at the semi-final stage. She arrived at World No. 4 with 6,704 points as of the same 31 August rankings, and a home Grand Slam semi-final was a solid showing in itself. It just was not enough to get past a player who came through the tougher stretch of the match.
Looking ahead
Rybakina now faces Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final. Sabalenka reached the final by beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
The head-to-head record between the two finalists favours Sabalenka, who leads their career series 10 wins to 7. Their most recent meeting came in March 2026 at Miami, where Sabalenka won 6-4, 6-3. That result sits outside this week’s tournament and had no bearing on Thursday’s semi-final, but it is the most recent data point either player has on the other heading into Saturday.
Rybakina will go into the final having already done the hardest part of her tournament: coming back from a set down against a top-four opponent on one of the biggest courts in the sport. Whether that form carries over against Sabalenka is the question New York will get an answer to on Saturday.
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