2026 US Open Tennis Finals Roundup: Rybakina and Zverev Crowned Champions

The 2026 US Open concluded with a dramatic Finals Weekend at Arthur Ashe Stadium, producing two different but equally significant champions. Elena Rybakina ended Aryna Sabalenka's two-year reign in New York, while Alexander Zverev defeated home favorite Ben Shelton to secure his first US Open championship.

Rybakina's victory came in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, on Saturday, September 12. A day later, Zverev beat Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2. The results gave both champions major milestones at the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.

Women's Final: Elena Rybakina Ends Sabalenka's US Open Reign

The women's final was a meeting between the top two seeds and a rematch of the 2026 Australian Open final. Sabalenka arrived in New York seeking a historic third consecutive US Open title, but Rybakina again proved to be the player capable of stopping her.

The victory also carried enormous ranking significance. Rybakina entered the tournament knowing that a deep enough run could put her at No. 1. Her championship confirmed that rise, ending Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top of the WTA rankings.

The numbers underline the quality of Rybakina's performance. She won 103 total points to Sabalenka's 90 and converted three of her 12 break opportunities. Sabalenka converted one of three break chances.

Rybakina's road to the final

Rybakina's run was especially impressive given her previous US Open history. Before 2026, she had never progressed beyond the fourth round in New York. By the semifinal stage, she had accumulated 12 sets won against two lost, while spending 9 hours and 43 minutes on court and covering 23,893 feet.

Sabalenka's historic run falls short

Sabalenka nevertheless produced another exceptional US Open campaign. She reached her fourth consecutive women's singles final, a feat not achieved since Serena Williams reached four straight finals from 2011 through 2014. Sabalenka also arrived having won the title in 2024 and 2025.

Her 2026 campaign included 12 sets won against only one lost before the final, 8 hours and 47 minutes of court time and 16,755 feet of distance covered.

Men's Final: Alexander Zverev Finally Wins in New York

Zverev's victory was one of the defining moments of the tournament. Six years after letting a two-set lead slip away in the 2020 US Open final, the German returned to the same stage and completed the job.

The final lasted 3 hours and 37 minutes. Shelton threatened to turn the match around after recovering the third set, but Zverev immediately restored control in the fourth, breaking twice and closing out the championship 6-2.

Zverev's serve was central to the victory. He finished with nine aces, 35 winners and won 85 percent of his first-serve points. More broadly, his ability to protect his service games prevented Shelton from converting his crowd-fueled momentum into a full comeback.

Shelton's breakthrough tournament

Although Shelton fell short of becoming the first American man to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003, his tournament was a major breakthrough. The 23-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final and became the first Black American man to reach the US Open men's singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.

His route to the championship match included a five-set quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz and a four-set semifinal win over Frances Tiafoe. Shelton entered the final having won 18 sets and lost six, covering 54,091 feet and spending 18 hours and 58 minutes on court.

2026 US Open Finalists: Player Statistics

Player	Seed	Sets W-L Before Final	Distance Covered	Court Time
Elena Rybakina	No. 2	12-2	23,893 ft	9h 43m
Aryna Sabalenka	No. 1	12-1	16,755 ft	8h 47m
Alexander Zverev	No. 1	18-4	47,521 ft	19h 38m
Ben Shelton	No. 8	18-6	54,091 ft	18h 58m

Tournament Statistics: The Numbers Behind the 2026 US Open

The official tournament statistics provide a useful snapshot of how the men's and women's singles competitions differed. The men's draw produced substantially more sets, games, aces and total points, in part because of the best-of-five format.

Statistic	Men's Singles	Women's Singles
Matches played	52	56
Sets played	198	128
Total games	1,884	1,186
Tie-breaks	27	11
Aces	1,012	370
Double faults	617	461
Winners	3,648	2,201
Unforced errors	3,781	3,019
Total points	11,647	7,979
First serves in	58%	59%
First-serve points won	72%	65%
Second-serve points won	49%	47%

Across the entire tournament, men's singles players produced 1,012 aces and 3,648 winners, while the women's singles draw produced 370 aces and 2,201 winners. The men's competition also featured 27 tie-breaks compared with 11 in the women's draw.

The Biggest Stories from Finals Weekend

1. Rybakina becomes the new world No. 1

Rybakina's title was more than a Grand Slam breakthrough in New York. It completed her rise to the top of the women's rankings. She also won the Australian Open earlier in 2026, giving her two major titles in the same season.

2. Zverev adds a second major

Zverev's US Open championship followed his French Open triumph earlier in the year. After three previous Grand Slam final defeats, he now has two major titles and has firmly established 2026 as the best Grand Slam season of his career.

3. Shelton signals a new era for American men's tennis

Shelton's defeat extended the American men's Grand Slam singles drought, but his run was nevertheless historic. His victories over elite opposition, including Alcaraz, demonstrated that American men's tennis has a serious contender capable of competing deep into major tournaments.

4. Sabalenka's three-peat attempt ends

Sabalenka was one victory away from joining an exclusive group of players to win three consecutive US Open women's singles titles. Rybakina's victory prevented that milestone and simultaneously ended Sabalenka's long stay at No. 1.

Final Verdict: A US Open Defined by New Champions

The 2026 US Open delivered a fitting finale to a Grand Slam season full of major storylines. Rybakina's breakthrough in New York and Zverev's redemption on the same court produced two champions with very different journeys but similarly significant achievements.

For Rybakina, the title completed a remarkable transformation from a player who had struggled to advance deep at Flushing Meadows into the tournament champion and world No. 1. For Zverev, the victory erased one of the most painful chapters of his career while adding a second major title to a season already highlighted by his French Open win.

Meanwhile, Shelton's breakthrough suggests that American men's tennis may have found another genuine Grand Slam contender. With the 2026 season now moving beyond the majors, the most intriguing question is whether these US Open storylines represent the beginning of longer championship rivalries.