Rybakina's US Open Title: Eyeing a 2027 Career Slam

Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the 2026 US Open final on September 12, winning her first US Open and her third Grand Slam title. She had already secured the No. 1 ranking by reaching the semifinals, ending Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top (AP). She is the first player from Kazakhstan to reach world No. 1.

What Happened

The win denied Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, a third straight US Open title. After Sabalenka took the second set, Rybakina won the decider 6-2. It is Rybakina's third major, after Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open in January 2026, and her second of the 2026 season.

A Season of Extremes

Rybakina opened 2026 by beating Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open final, then lost in the second round at Roland-Garros and the third round at Wimbledon before her US Open run. In eight main-draw appearances in Paris, her best result is the quarterfinals, reached in 2021 and 2024.

One Major Away From History

With Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open won, Roland-Garros is the only major missing from a Career Grand Slam. In an interview with CBS Mornings after the final, she called it "definitely my next goal and that's what I'm going to try to do with my team," and added: "We do everything for the next couple of years to try to make it happen."

The Men's Final: Zverev's Second Major of 2026

A day later, on September 13, Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to win the men's title, his second major of the season after his 2026 French Open title in June. He is the first German man to win the US Open since Boris Becker in 1989. No American man has won a major singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.

Update, November 2, 2026: Rybakina clinched the 2026 WTA year-end No. 1 ranking on October 29 in Tokyo, the first player from Kazakhstan to do so.

What It Means for Roland-Garros 2027

Rybakina goes into Roland-Garros 2027 (main draw May 23 to June 6) as world No. 1 and a two-time major champion in 2026, but Paris is the only major where she has never reached a semifinal. That makes her clay form one of the main women's storylines of the spring. The defending champion is Mirra Andreeva, who won her first major in Paris in 2026. Read about Zheng Qinwen's run to the quarterfinals in New York in our Zheng Qinwen recap.

Planning Ahead for Roland-Garros 2027

The women's final is expected on Saturday, June 5, 2027, according to the LTA's provisional schedule. Single tickets are sold only on tickets.rolandgarros.com; GoalTickets, the independent resale marketplace that runs this site, lists resale tickets, usually above face value. Explore our player profiles to get to know the contenders.

Sources: Wikipedia (2026 US Open women's and men's singles, Elena Rybakina career statistics), AP (No. 1 ranking, September 9, 2026), Tennis Up To Date (CBS Mornings quotes), WTA (year-end No. 1, October 29, 2026). Checked November 2, 2026.