New York, September 12 (H.S.): World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan knows exactly what she needs to do if she is to prevent world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus from winning the US Open women’s singles title for a third consecutive year. Rybakina plans to combine her aggressive game with control of the rallies and ensure that Sabalenka does not dictate play and dominate the points.

Ahead of her US Open 2026 women’s singles final against top seed and two-time defending champion Sabalenka, Rybakina said in an interview that she would have to maintain the same fighting spirit and give her best regardless of how she feels on the day.

“I think I just have to maintain the same spirit. Whatever I feel like on the day, I have to fight and give my best. We know each other quite well and have played against each other many times. At the important moments, I will try to remain aggressive, not wait for her to take control of the points, and try to keep myself on the front foot in the rallies,” Rybakina said.

The final between the two at Arthur Ashe Stadium will be played on Sunday, September 13, at 1:30 a.m. IST. The match will be broadcast live on JioHotstar and Star Sports. It will be the 18th meeting between the two players, with Sabalenka currently leading their head-to-head record 10-7.

It will also be the first time in 13 years that the top two seeds have met in the women’s singles final at the US Open.

Sabalenka is bidding for the fifth Grand Slam title of her career and a third consecutive US Open crown. Rybakina, meanwhile, secured her place in the final by defeating 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-final.

However, Rybakina’s journey to the final has not been straightforward. The 27-year-old revealed that a leg problem had left her uncertain about whether she would even be able to compete in the tournament in New York.

“I wasn’t 100 per cent sure that I would even be able to play this tournament. In the first few matches, I was thinking about my leg and how it would respond. I wasn’t comfortable in the early rounds. Then, gradually, my focus shifted to what I was doing wrong on court and what I needed to improve. That is how I slowly found my rhythm,” she said.

“There were some extremely difficult opponents and some great matches. I think certain things are definitely going in my favour, and hopefully, on the day of the final, I will be able to play my best tennis and that will bring me success,” Rybakina added.

Rybakina’s mental and physical resilience has also been tested during the latter stages of the tournament. She was forced to go the distance in both her quarter-final and semi-final matches.

“During the matches, I kept telling myself that I hadn’t practised for a week before the tournament. I was convincing myself that I wasn’t tired and that I could still fight. Honestly, I was fighting for every point because both matches were extremely close,” she said.

“There were moments when I didn’t have enough energy and I wasn’t able to generate as much power from my legs on serve. But whoever the opponent is, if my serve is working, it gives me a huge advantage and is a major weapon in my game. So I kept pushing myself, both mentally and physically,” Rybakina added.

On the other side, Sabalenka produced another commanding performance in the semi-final, defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to reach the US Open final for the fourth consecutive year.

She has become the first player since Serena Williams, who reached four consecutive US Open finals between 2011 and 2014, to achieve the feat in the women’s singles.

Sabalenka will enter the final seeking to make history, while Rybakina will look to take another major step towards claiming the world No. 1 ranking by adding the US Open trophy to her Australian Open title.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar