The top two seeds meet in a Grand Slam final for the third time. Sabalenka is chasing a rare three-peat in New York. Only Chris Evert (1976–78) and Serena Williams (2012–14) have won three consecutive US Open women’s titles.
Rybakina will become world No. 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at the top regardless of the result.
How they reached the final
- Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semi-final.
- Rybakina recovered from a set down to defeat 2023 champion Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Head-to-head and form
Sabalenka leads their career series 10-7. They have met three times in 2026: Sabalenka won in Miami and at Indian Wells; Rybakina won the Australian Open final.
Sabalenka has four majors — Australian Open 2023 and 2024, US Open 2024 and 2025. She has not lost at Flushing Meadows since the 2023 final to Gauff and has dropped only one set this fortnight.
Rybakina has two majors — Wimbledon 2022 and the Australian Open 2026. Saturday is her first US Open final.
What they said
Sabalenka: “I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way. The mentality was just I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever it’s going to take to get the win.”
Rybakina: “I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself… Even if something goes wrong in the final, I’ll still have other opportunities. We push each other when we play these matches.”
Prize money
The champion will earn $5.5 million. The runner-up receives $2.8 million from a tournament purse of $108 million.
The men’s final between Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton follows on Sunday.