Rybakina can only claim it by beating Sabalenka on Saturday, and the two-time defending champion made it clear in a ruthless semifinal performance that she has no intention of surrendering it, or her shot at becoming the first woman since Serena Williams in 2012-14 to win three straight titles at Flushing Meadows.

"I wanted badly to go to the finals, and of course I want to go all the way," Sabalenka said after beating home favourite Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semifinal. Meanwhile, Rybakina set up a matchup and won her semifinal by defeating another home favourite and one of American tennis's powerhouses, Coco Gauff. Rybakina went past Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a thrilling final against Sabalenka.

Sabalenka is currently No. 1, and Rybakina is No. 2 on the WTA rankings, making the final an exciting affair between 1 vs 2.

Rybakina Kept On Inching Closer To Sabalenka

Earlier, Rybakina won the Australian Open to start the season with a bang, defeating Sabalenka. She then kept on inching closer to Sabalenka, given the Belarusian had a very poor summer by her standards. Rybakina needed only to reach the semifinals in New York to clinch the No. 1 ranking.

"It's a lot of work, and yeah, that was one of my goals, but right now not much I could do. I didn't really perform well in the middle of the season," Sabalenka said. "Elena took it over and played really well, and she took away the No. 1 position."

Gauff Displayed Spirited Performance On Court

The second semifinal was a much tighter affair, with Coco Gauff repeatedly fighting her way back into contention before Elena Rybakina shut the door. Gauff came out firing, taking the first set in 38 minutes and briefly out-acing Rybakina 4-1 despite the Kazakh leading the WTA Tour in aces. Rybakina steadied herself after the slow start.

"Took a deep breath, was trying to talk positive with myself and just told myself that I need to fight and try to show good tennis," Rybakina said.

Gauff again found a way back in the second set after falling behind 4-1, leveling at 4-all. But Rybakina answered by winning the next two games to move within a game of the final. She then led 5-3 and served for the match, only for Gauff to break and earn one last opportunity, with a crowd that included former First Lady Michelle Obama urging her on.

"I thought it was a good match, and it honestly came down to a couple of service games of mine in both sets, and I didn't quite hold," Gauff said. "She does a great job of just being there every point and putting a lot of pressure on you on service game and return game."

Rybakina's win set up a final against Sabalenka, who had delivered a far more one-sided performance earlier Thursday against Jessica Pegula.

Gauff won her first Grand Slam title as a teenager by beating Sabalenka in the 2023 U.S. Open final. Since then, however, Sabalenka has been nearly untouchable in Flushing Meadows, winning 19 consecutive matches.

Jessica Pegula Faded On Court Against Sabalenka

Pegula had pushed her in the 2024 final and again in last year's semifinals, but Sabalenka's level Thursday was overwhelming. She blasted 29 winners to Pegula's 12 and won 14 of 19 points on Pegula's second serve, repeatedly taking the ball early and turning defense into attack.

"I think that's definitely, you can ask her, probably the best match she's played this year," Pegula said. "I thought her level was insanely high."

For a while, Pegula stayed with her. The first set was tied at 4-all after just 25 minutes, and Sabalenka showed her frustration when she couldn't make much headway against Pegula's serve.

That changed at 6-5. Pegula had won 18 of 20 points on her first serve to that point, but Sabalenka suddenly found another gear. She ripped a backhand winner, watched Pegula send a forehand long and struck another winner to earn set point before closing it out.

Sabalenka carried that momentum into the second set. In Pegula's second service game, she pounced on a 77-mph second serve, firing a forehand back at 90 mph that Pegula had no chance of reaching. The winner gave Sabalenka a 3-1 lead and underscored just how little room she was giving her opponent.

The result also produced a milestone: for the first time since 1975, the U.S. Open women's semifinals featured the tournament's top four seeds. Sabalenka, Rybakina and Gauff have all won multiple Grand Slam titles. Pegula, despite her deep runs in New York, is still searching for her first.