US Open: Elena Rybakina defeats Coco Gauff to silence New York crowd and set up blockbuster final with Aryna Sabalenka

Rybakina battled back to upset home favourite Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 in a fierce semi-final showdown to secure a ​title showdown with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and stay ​on course for a ‌third Grand Slam crown.

Sabalenka had beaten Gauff's American compatriot Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 ‌earlier in the night to close in on a ​rare three-peat in New York.

"Of course there were nerves," admitted Rybakina in her on-court interview. "Coco is a great player. It's always tough to play her. Even if sometimes her first serve doesn't go the second one is so heavy it's difficult to dictate the rallies. I took a deep breath, tried to talk positive with myself and just told myself I need to fight and try to show good tennis."

Gauff absorbed relentless pressure ​but stayed strong to draw errors from the Kazakh, ​breaking in the sixth ⁠game and taking the ⁠opening set in front of a passionate crowd ‌that included former first lady Michelle Obama.

Rybakina capitalised on some sloppy play ‌by the fourth-seeded American in the second set to level the match.

Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, gained control ​with her power and broke ​to go 5-3 ahead in ​the decider. Gauff hit back ⁠with a break of her own but her comeback bid faltered ⁠when she could not ​hold serve, as Rybakina broke ​to close out the win.

Gauff said: "Right now, it sucks. My dad said 'you accomplished so many great things this summer'. I was like I don't care about the summer. So right now that's where my head is at."

Sabalenka keeps bid for three-peat alive

Top seed Sabalenka relied on her usual power to chip away at ​Pegula, sending over ⁠29 winners and ⁠seven aces before closing it out with ‌an unreturnable shot deep in the American's territory.

Third-seeded ‌Pegula, runner-up in 2024, started the match with a poised performance but eventually succumbed to ⁠the Belarusian's power, as ​a bevy of costly ​mistakes in the ​second set undermined her best ⁠efforts.

"I ​was so desperate for the win, I wanted ⁠it badly," said Sabalenka.

Pegula got off to a near-pristine start, saving an early break point with a fine forehand winner, ‌as Sabalenka struggled to rein in her frustrations, whacking her racket on the court after a double fault in the ninth game.

Pegula held her serve in ⁠the 10th, but the defending champion soon hit her stride as she ​broke her opponent from the baseline on set point.

She ​used her best weapon to her advantage again to go ​up 3-1 in the second set, firing off a forehand ⁠winner from the baseline on break point, as Pegula struggled to find her early polish before Sabalenka broke her again on match point.

"I can say that I feel confident and I feel mentally and physically really strong right now," ⁠said Sabalenka, who earned the respect of ​the partisan fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Pegula, 32, is still looking for a maiden Grand Slam title and admitted she faced an almost impossible task with Sabalenka in that mood.

She said: "I don't know who p****d her off today - hopefully it wasn't me totally, but it might have been - I don't know. She played insane. She played a super-high level.

"Honestly, I don't really know if there was much I could do today."

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