One set down, a hostile crowd roaring against her, Elena Rybakina took a deep breath. Then she took the match. The Kazakh second seed beat American fourth seed Coco Gauff 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 in a gripping US Open semi-final on Thursday, punching her ticket to Saturday's final and, whatever happens there, guaranteeing herself the world number one ranking when the new list drops on Monday. After 99 weeks at the top, Aryna Sabalenka's reign is over before the trophy is even handed out.

Sabalenka, though, is not finished. The Belarusian top seed demolished home favourite Jessica Pegula 7–5, 6–2 in the other semi-final, pounding 29 winners to Pegula's 12 and making the packed Arthur Ashe crowd feel every one of them. The victory also broke an Open era record: no woman has ever reached more consecutive Grand Slam hard-court finals than Sabalenka now has. She is chasing history on a different front too — a third straight US Open title, something only two women have managed in the Open era.

The final, then, is a rare collision. Not since Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka in 2013 have the top two women's seeds met in a US Open final. Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and defeated Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January, will be hunting a third Grand Slam title. Sabalenka, despite a shaky mid-season that included quarter-final exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, has dropped just one set in New York this fortnight.