New York: Elena Rybakina stormed into the US Open semifinals and secured the world No. 1 ranking after battling past Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The victory guarantees that the Australian Open champion will replace Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings when the new standings are released on Monday, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week reign. It will be Rybakina’s first stint as world No. 1.
Rybakina will face either fourth-seeded Coco Gauff or fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals. Sabalenka will take on third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
“It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis and my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said.
Zheng, the 2024 Olympic champion, had entered the tournament through qualifying after elbow surgery saw her ranking fall to No. 121. The former world No. 4 produced a remarkable run to the quarterfinals, recovering from 0-5 down against Madison Keys in the third round before repeating the feat in the opening set against No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek.
However, Rybakina recovered after losing the opening set and dominated the second before securing the decisive break in the third. A double fault from Zheng handed Rybakina a 5-4 lead, after which the Kazakh served out the match to reach her first US Open semifinal.
Zheng is assured of returning to the world’s top 60 following her impressive campaign at Flushing Meadows.
