ELENA Rybakina defeated Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach her first US Open semifinal on Wednesday (Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, PH time) and become the new No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
Rybakina, who needed only to advance to the semifinals to overtake defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, will face 2023 champion Coco Gauff in the final four.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Rybakina fell behind 5-3 in the opening set before recovering to dominate the second set in 38 minutes.
Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China, capitalized on Rybakina’s early struggles to earn her only break of the match. But she could not maintain the momentum as Rybakina fought back.
A double fault by Zheng gave Rybakina a 5-4 lead in the third set, and the Kazakh player served out the match to reach the semifinals.
Rybakina will end Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday.
Gauff reached the semifinals by overcoming a slow start and beating Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
The other women’s semifinal will pit Sabalenka against No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Thursday (Friday in PH).
In the men’s draw, Karen Khachanov reached his third Grand Slam semifinal when No. 28 seed Alexander Blockx stopped playing midway through the third set after Khachanov had won the first two.
Blockx had his upper left leg wrapped and received treatment on both his lower leg and back.
Khachanov, who reached the US Open semifinals in 2022 and the Australian Open semifinals in 2023, will face top-seeded Alexander Zverev on Friday (Saturday, PH time).
Zverev frustrated Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the semifinals.
Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will meet in the other semifinal in an all-American matchup. / LBG
