ELENA Rybakina moved one victory away from becoming the No. 1-ranked woman in tennis after overpowering Naomi Osaka, 6-1, 6-4, Monday (Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, PH time) to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
The No. 2-seeded Rybakina will face Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals. A victory would assure Rybakina of replacing Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings.
“I try to approach the same way, try to do everything I can, fight until the end my next match and let’s see what’s going to happen,” Rybakina said, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Rybakina, who won the Australian Open earlier this year for her second Grand Slam title, is enjoying a career-best No. 2 ranking.
Even if she loses to Zheng, Rybakina can still reach No. 1 if Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula all fail to win the title.
Rybakina was too strong for Osaka in their matchup of Grand Slam champions. The Japanese former No. 1, who has won two of her four major titles at the US Open, appeared to be dealing with a foot or ankle issue during the match.
Rybakina needed only one hour and six minutes to finish the match, closing it with an ace. She leads the WTA Tour in aces.
Resurgent Zheng
Zheng, meanwhile, continued her remarkable run after overcoming a 5-0 deficit for the second consecutive match.
The 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China defeated No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek, 7-5, 6-3, becoming the first qualifier to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu won the tournament in 2021.
Zheng trailed 5-0 in the third set against No. 22 Madison Keys two days earlier before winning the final seven games to pull off a stunning 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory.
Against Swiatek, Zheng again quickly fell behind 0-5 before rallying.
“I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that’s all I can say,” Zheng said in the AP report.
Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion, had a 7-1 record against Zheng entering the match. Her only previous loss to Zheng came in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Zheng rallied from 4-0 down in the second set to end Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros.
Swiatek received treatment on her left thigh during the second set but said the loss was not caused by physical or mental problems.
“It was more that I started making mistakes from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes,” Swiatek said. “She played the balls better.”
Gauff also advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating No. 14 seed Iva Jovic, 6-1, 6-4. The No. 4 seed reached the final eight at the US Open for the first time since winning her maiden Grand Slam title in 2023.
Gauff will next face French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, the No. 5 seed, who rallied past No. 24 Anastasia Potapova, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Five-set marathons
In the men’s draw, Botic van de Zandschulp outlasted French lucky loser Arthur Gea, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3), 6-4, in 5 hours, 13 minutes — the fourth-longest match in US Open history.
Van de Zandschulp will face top seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated No. 21 Luciano Darderi, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Gea entered the main draw after 2022 US Open runner-up Casper Ruud withdrew because of a back injury. Gea had a match point in the third-set tiebreaker but could not convert it as he attempted to become the first lucky loser to reach the quarterfinals of a men’s Grand Slam.
Alexander Blockx also advanced after defeating No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, to become the first Belgian man to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
Blockx will face No. 27 Karen Khachanov, who rallied past No. 14 Learner Tien, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, in 3 hours, 50 minutes.
Tien was attempting to help give the United States four men in the US Open quarterfinals for the first time since 1995. Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Alex Michelsen advanced Sunday, along with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. / LBG
