List of records Elena Rybakina broke at US Open 2026

Elena Rybakina won her third Grand Slam title in New York

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan enjoyed the greatest couple of weeks of her tennis career at the US Open 2026. She not only won her maiden title in Flushing Meadows, but also was crowned the new World No. 1 for the first time in her career. She had to work hard to get there, beating a formidable pool of players, including Naomi Osaka, Qinwen Zheng, Coco Gauff, and finally Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

What makes her run even more remarkable is that she arrived with her participation in doubt due to injury. She leaves New York as a history maker, with a campaign that will be remembered for a long time.

Second player to beat the World No. 1 in two Slam finals in a season

Since the WTA rankings began in 1975, only one other woman has beaten a reigning World No. 1 in two different Grand Slam finals in the same season. In 1995, Steffi Graf defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at the French Open and Monica Seles at the US Open. Rybakina has achieved the same feat exactly 31 years later, beating Sabalenka first in Melbourne in January and now again in New York.

First to beat two former champions in the semis and final since Azarenka

Rybakina is the first player to beat former women’s singles champions in both the semi-final and final of the same Grand Slam since Victoria Azarenka managed it at the 2012 Australian Open. Gauff won in 2023, and Sabalenka won in 2024 and 2025, but both finished this season without a Grand Slam title.

Related: How does top 10 of WTA rankings look after US Open 2026?

Third Grand Slam title, and the new World No. 1

This is Rybakina’s third major title, and she joins only a couple of other players who have won three or more Grand Slams since the start of the decade: Iga Swiatek (six) and Sabalenka (four).

The result also confirms what was already locked in before the final began: Rybakina becomes the 30th woman in WTA history to reach World No. 1, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week reign at the top. The French Open is now the only major missing from her collection.

First to win her first three Slams all in three-set finals

Rybakina has won all three of her Grand Slam titles the hard way. Her victories at Wimbledon in 2022, the Australian Open this year, and now the US Open all came in three-set finals, highlighting her composure under pressure.

One of three active players to beat a reigning No. 1 in a final three times

Beating a world No. 1 in a final is not new for Rybakina, but doing it three times puts her in rare company. Only Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka (currently inactive) have beaten a reigning WTA No. 1 in a final on three separate occasions. Rybakina has now done it three times against Sabalenka alone.

Related: US Open 2026 payouts – How much did Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and others earn in prize money?

Sixth woman in the Open Era to win both hard-court Slams in the same year

By winning both hard-court majors this season, Elena Rybakina joins a select group of women in the Open Era to have won the Australian Open and US Open (hard court) in the same calendar year. Other women to do so are Steffi Graf (1988, 1989), Monica Seles (1991, 1992), Martina Hingis (1997), Angelique Kerber (2016) and Aryna Sabalenka (2024).

Sixth woman this century to beat a defending champion No. 1 in a final

Sabalenka arrived at Flushing Meadows chasing a third straight US Open title. Rybakina’s win makes her the sixth woman this century to beat the World No. 1 while that player was the defending champion in a Slam final.

The Kazakh joins Lindsay Davenport (Australian Open, 2000), Serena Williams (Wimbledon, 2002), Angelique Kerber (Australian Open, 2016), Garbiñe Muguruza (Roland Garros, 2016), and Madison Keys (Australian Open, 2025).

The US Open title after eight years

This was Rybakina’s eighth appearance at the US Open before she finally won it, a longer wait than most past champions have needed. Only three women in the Open Era took more attempts: Flavia Pennetta needed 11, Martina Navratilova needed 11, and Angelique Kerber needed 10.

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