New No. 1 Elena Rybakina Outlasts Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka Overpowers Jessica Pegula to Set Up Title Clash — Shelton and Tiafoe Chase History Friday Night

The 2026 US Open moved a step closer to its conclusion this week as the semifinal round reshaped both draws. On the women's side, Elena Rybakina completed her climb to the world No. 1 ranking with a gritty three-set win over Coco Gauff, while Aryna Sabalenka dismantled Jessica Pegula to reach a fourth straight US Open final and continue her bid for a historic three-peat. On the men's side, Friday's semifinals promise fireworks: top seed Alexander Zverev takes on Karen Khachanov in the afternoon, before Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe collide in an all-American night session match that guarantees a home player in Sunday's final for the first time since 2024.

WTA Semifinals: Rybakina Completes Her Rise to No. 1, Sabalenka Rolls Into Another Final

No. 2 Elena Rybakina def. No. 4 Coco Gauff, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Gauff came out playing some of the best tennis of her career, backing up her usual speed and backhand with an improved serve to cruise through the opening set. But the match flipped in the second set as Gauff's serve grew shaky and her forehand began to break down, allowing Rybakina to seize control. Gauff piled up 25 unforced errors across the final two sets and grew visibly frustrated with her inability to keep the ball in play, though she stayed true to her competitive instincts, breaking Rybakina late as the Kazakh tried to serve out the match. Rybakina closed it out regardless, reaching her first US Open final after previously never advancing past the fourth round in New York. The win also mathematically locked in her ascension to world No. 1, a ranking she takes from Sabalenka regardless of Saturday's result.

The pair split their two 2026 meetings, with Rybakina winning their most recent clash in the Toronto semifinals 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 6-2

Pegula hung tough for the first eleven games, trading holds with the top seed to keep the opening set on serve. But the dam broke in the twelfth game, when Sabalenka broke to close out the set before backing it up with two more breaks in the second to close out the match comfortably. Pegula had no answer for Sabalenka's power throughout, managing just a single break point over the entire contest — which Sabalenka saved. The two-time defending champion, who beat Gauff in the 2023 final before winning the last two titles outright, is now one win from becoming the first woman since Serena Williams (2012-14) to win three straight US Open crowns.

Sabalenka leads the pair's rivalry 9-4 overall, though Pegula won their most recent meeting in the Berlin semifinals earlier this year, 6-4, 6-7, 6-0.

WTA Semifinal Snapshot

Match	Winner	Score	Key Note
SF1	Aryna Sabalenka (1)	7-5, 6-2	Faced just one break point all match
SF2	Elena Rybakina (2)	3-6, 6-4, 6-4	Clinched world No. 1 ranking with the win

ATP Semifinals: All-American Showdown Headlines a Historic Friday Night

Preview Friday's men's semifinals had not yet been played at the time of publication, with the top-seed clash scheduled for the afternoon session and the all-American showdown set for prime time at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

No. 1 Alexander Zverev vs. Karen Khachanov

Zverev arrives having dropped just one set across his last three matches, following straight-sets wins over Botic van de Zandschulp (6-2, 7-5, 6-1) in the quarterfinals and Luciano Darderi in the round of 16. Khachanov advanced when Alexander Blockx retired injured while trailing 6-2, 7-5, 2-2, continuing a resurgent run that has taken the Russian to his first major semifinal since reaching the Wimbledon final in 2025. Zverev leads the pair's decade-long rivalry 6-3, having won four of their last five meetings, with eight of their nine career matches played on hard courts. A win would send the reigning French Open champion and Wimbledon finalist into his third consecutive Grand Slam final of the season.

No. 8 Ben Shelton vs. No. 11 Frances Tiafoe

Both Americans punched their tickets to the semifinals in dramatic fashion. Shelton produced the performance of his career to outlast defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a fifth-set tiebreak that didn't conclude until 3:33 a.m. ET, finishing 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6. Tiafoe, meanwhile, rallied from two sets down to beat fellow American Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6) in a four-hour, 38-minute battle in which Michelsen twice served for the match. Friday's meeting is a rubber match of sorts in their recent history — Shelton beat Tiafoe in straight sets at this event two years ago, and Tiafoe returned the favor with a five-set win the following year. Both enter with similar 2026 form (Shelton 38-13, Tiafoe 42-16), and whoever wins will be assured of reaching a first career Grand Slam final while guaranteeing an American a shot at ending the sport's longest active men's major drought — no American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open triumph. A Shelton-Tiafoe final matchup would also mark the first time since Arthur Ashe in 1972 that a Black American man reaches a major singles final.

ATP Quarterfinal Results (For Context)

Match	Winner	Score	Key Note
QF	Ben Shelton (8)	6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6	Beat Alcaraz; match ended 3:33 a.m. ET
QF	Frances Tiafoe (11)	5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6)	Rallied from two sets down vs. Michelsen
QF	Alexander Zverev (1)	6-2, 7-5, 6-1	Beat Van de Zandschulp
QF	Karen Khachanov	6-2, 7-5, 2-2 ret.	Blockx retired with injury

Key Storylines Heading Into the Finals

The women's final is a changing-of-the-guard story on paper but a rematch in spirit — Rybakina has now overtaken Sabalenka at the top of the rankings, but the two-time defending champion remains the player to beat at Flushing Meadows, where she hasn't lost since 2023. For Rybakina, it's a chance to add a first US Open trophy to her Wimbledon and Australian Open titles and complete a career sweep of hard-court majors.

On the men's side, American tennis is one win away from ending its longest Grand Slam singles drought in the Open Era. Whether it's Shelton's power or Tiafoe's crowd-fueled resilience that prevails Friday night, the winner will face either Zverev or Khachanov on Sunday with a chance to become the first American man to lift a major trophy since 2003.

Also Read: 2026 US Open Tennis Finals Recap

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