Elena Rybakina, the second seeded Kazakh, is heading to her first US Open final after staging a massive comeback against Coco Gauff! She battled from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a title decider against Aryna Sabalenka.
Arthur Ashe Was Electrified, But Not for Rybakina
Man, that first set was *rough* if you were rooting for Rybakina. She stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium, with 22,000 fans screaming, and it looked like she hadn’t arrived yet. Coco Gauff was absolutely on fire, blowing through the first stanza and covering every inch of that acrylic surface. Rybakina, on the other hand, was all over the place. Her baseline game was wild and erratic, and that usually peerless serve of hers was completely missing in action. The crowd was going absolutely bananas, wanting to see Gauff take control and leave Rybakina seeing red.
The Comeback Kid Delivers
But you don’t get to the top of pro tennis without being able to problem-solve when things get tough, right? Rybakina absolutely proved that in the next two sets. She gave us a brilliant showcase of that underrated toughness we know she has, coolly recovering after dropping the first set. She flipped the script, overpowering Gauff to take the next two sets 6-4, 6-4. It was an incredible display of grit to seal her spot in her first US Open final. Just pure mental fortitude in the face of a fired-up opponent and a hostile crowd.
Now, the big one. Rybakina has a date with Aryna Sabalenka in the title decider. Sabalenka earned her spot by absolutely blitzing Jessica Pegula in her own semi-final. This final is gonna be epic!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Guardian.
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