Rybakina triumphs at US Open for her third Grand Slam title

[p]Kazakhstan's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Rybakina[/a], assured of supplanting [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] atop the rankings by reaching the semi-finals in New York, won her third Grand Slam title to go with her 2022 Wimbledon crown and the Australian Open trophy she lifted this year.[/p][embed guid="c34e4ee5-6851-4021-a42e-dbb4f6d597ec" url="https://x.com/usopen/status/2098904994997059643?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]She became just the second woman to beat a world number one player in two Grand Slam finals in the same year. The other was Steffi Graf in 1995.[/p][p]Sabalenka, unbeaten in 20 prior matches at Flushing Meadows, clawed back courageously in the second set, breaking Rybakina for the first time in the final game to force the third.[/p][p]But with her trademark aplomb, Rybakina roared back to finish off a frustrated Sabalenka, who smashed her racket while sitting in her chair as her opponent was applauded by the crowd.[/p][p]Sabalenka, 28, will end 2026 without a major title since 2022.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/rybakina-e-UDzElXdm/sabalenka-a-vyhksgUB/?mid=rDbVIO5l"]Check out the full matchup stats with Flashscore![/a][/b][/p][embed guid="b29a390f-e355-4e39-8ca1-1634705b8f6d" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCAQnmJBJIk" social-type="youtube" /][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]