NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka rolled into New York two weeks ago as the No. 1 player in the world and the two-time defending US Open champion. Over the course of those two weeks, leading up to Saturday’s final, Elena Rybakina claimed Sabalenka’s No. 1 ranking, halted her US Open run, and reduced her to a seething, racket-smashing fury. Not bad for a fortnight’s work, not bad for another chapter in what’s developing into the finest rivalry in women’s tennis.
Sabalenka and Rybakina are the two finest players in women’s tennis right now, and their US Open final match — which ended with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 Rybakina victory — was always going to be a heavyweight fight, strength on strength. But over the course of three sets, Rybakina turned Sabalenka’s greatest asset — her furious willpower — against her, hemming Sabalenka in on all sides and, by the end of the match, smothering all hope.
No point better exemplified this match than the one at 15-15 in the fourth game of the final set. Already up a break, Rybakina simply gave Sabalenka nowhere to run, no chance for escape, mixing deep volleys and drop shots until Sabalenka ran herself right out of the point — and, a few games later, right out of the match.
Rybakina didn’t overwhelm Sabalenka with dominant tennis. She didn’t wow the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium with artistic tennis. She simply played relentless tennis — minimizing her own mistakes, taking advantage of Sabalenka’s many errors, and never letting the match get too far out of her control. That’s how you win a major, that’s how you build the foundation for an epic career … and that’s how you get the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd on your side, too.
“I honestly was coming here for the last 10 years and it was never successful,” Rybakina said immediately after the match. “Nothing close to that. It’s just incredible. I’m falling in love with New York more and more. It’s an amazing memory for me.” Absent star power or American citizenship, US Open crowds tend to cheer for whoever’s performing well in a given match, and although Sabalenka clearly had their favor early on, Rybakina won them over by the end of the third set.
Every match hinges on which player will exploit the narrow margins that lead to victory or defeat, and time and time again on Saturday, Rybakina kept the match close enough to the point where she could exploit those margins. The two were tied at 71 points apiece heading into the final set; Rybakina ended up with 103 points to Sabalenka’s 90. Sabalenka landed more of her first serves — 58 percent to Rybakina’s 47 percent — but Rybakina converted many more of those first serves to points, 85 percent to 69 percent.
One more number that’s crucial for the emotional flow of the match: Rybakina had 24 unforced errors to Sabalenka’s 35. Those misfires caused Sabalenka to doubt herself, to rage at herself and her coaching staff, to lose control on multiple occasions. After surrendering what turned out to be a decisive break in the fifth game of the first set, Sabalenka angrily slapped a ball into the crowd. That earned her a warning from the chair during the changeover. And after the final point, Sabalenka smashed her racquet on the court, then continued hammering away with it when she sat down on her bench.
“It’s really tough to control your emotions when you’re in the final of the Grand Slam and when you were trying to go for three-peat,” a calmer — but in no way apologetic — Sabalenka explained afterward. “So I just wanted to let it go because if I would hold it inside … I wouldn’t be able to say a word or I would just go not really nice [on the court]. So I just wanted all of that aggression and disappointment to go outside.”
Tennis is always at its best when there’s a rivalry at the very top of the pyramid — think Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf vs. Monica Seles. Sabalenka vs. Rybakina — Aryna vs. Elena, if you like — has the potential to reach that level, particularly if Sabalenka can capitalize on the momentum of her US Open run next season.
Sabalenka still leads the head-to-head match 10-8. And of the 11 matches that have gone three sets, Sabalenka has won eight of them. But Rybakina has now knocked off Sabalenka in two Grand Slam finals this year — the US and Australian Opens — and judging from Sabalenka’s post-match expression, it’s safe to say that Rybakina has firmly taken up residence in her head.
So Sabalenka’s reign ends, and Rybakina’s begins. Sabalenka held the No. 1 title for 99 weeks.
“Well, that’s amazing,” Sabalenka said, when told of that number, and swelled a bit with pride. “Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that.” Then she remembered what had just happened, and walked it back a couple steps.
“If she continues playing like that,” Sabalenka said, “then I’m in trouble.”
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