Rybakina Ended Sabalenka's Three-Peat Bid
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At Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday, Elena Rybakina did something she'd never managed before: she won the US Open. The 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Aryna Sabalenka denied the two-time defending champion a shot at joining Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to win three straight US Open titles — and it capped a final that swung hard in the second set before Rybakina closed it out in the third.
It's Rybakina's third career Grand Slam title, but her first in New York, and it comes in the same season she's already claimed the Australian Open. Combined with Sabalenka's loss, the result locks in Rybakina as the new world No. 1 — a ranking she'd already secured on paper, but one that now comes with a US Open trophy to match it.
The final's exact ending time wasn't independently published anywhere we could verify, so rather than guess at a scoreline moment, we're claiming the minute that is on record: 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, when both women walked out and the match that would decide it all actually began.
We're claiming that minute: not the rankings, not the trophy photo, just the exact minute!