Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka in the 2026 US Open final on September 12, but the next WTA No. 1 ranking had been decided after the quarterfinals three days earlier. The WTA announced the change on September 9; the new list took effect on September 14.

The WTA’s September 9 announcement said results in New York had put Rybakina ahead of Aryna Sabalenka for the next update. Its rankings review traced the change to her quarterfinal win over Zheng Qinwen and said no remaining match could alter the next list’s top position.

The quarterfinals settled the race

At the start of the US Open, Sabalenka, Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff were all in contention for No. 1. Sabalenka had held the position since October 2024, according to the WTA. Rybakina came into the quarterfinal without losing a set in New York, after beating former champion Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round. The WTA said she had dropped only 25 games through those first four matches. Zheng then took the quarterfinal opener 6-3. Rybakina recovered to win 6-1, 6-4 in 2 hours 14 minutes and reach her first US Open semifinal. At 4-3 in the third set, she saved a break point and won the final three games. The WTA match report says that semifinal berth secured the ranking outright.

The ranking itself is a rolling 52-week calculation, not a reward for one final. The WTA’s 2026 rulebook says the singles list is based on 18 tournament results. The required mix includes four Grand Slams, six combined WTA 1000 mandatory events, one additional mandatory WTA 1000 event and the best eligible results from other tournaments. A WTA Finals result can count as a bonus tournament.

That system brings together results earned throughout the season, while points remain valid for 52 weeks. Rankings also determine tournament entry and seeding. The US Open draw had already listed Sabalenka as No. 1 and Rybakina as No. 2, so the upcoming list did not rewrite matches in progress; it applied to later tournament entries and seeds. The WTA’s September announcement did not publish Rybakina’s point total or the margin over Sabalenka; the available sources therefore do not support an exact point-by-point reconstruction.

A ring of week marks and abstract tennis-result tiles illustrates the WTA's rolling 52-week ranking system.
Concept illustration: WTA singles rankings accumulate tournament results across a rolling 52-week period; the US Open final alone did not determine this ranking.

The season behind the move

Rybakina’s position reflected a strong run across more than one surface and event. The WTA’s September profile lists her undefeated 2025 WTA Finals title, 2026 Australian Open and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix wins, runner-up finishes at Indian Wells and Toronto, and a Miami semifinal. The WTA reported more than 350 aces by September 9; at the semifinal stage, her 47-13 record was second in tour wins among the four semifinalists, behind Pegula.

The final and a first for Kazakhstan

In the semifinal, Rybakina came back from a set down to beat Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach her first US Open final. Gauff led after one set; Rybakina moved ahead 4-1 in the second, saw the score level at 4-4, then broke in the last game to take it 6-4. She won the deciding set 6-4. The WTA match report records the comeback. It was Rybakina’s fifth Grand Slam semifinal and her first at the US Open.

On September 12 in New York, Rybakina defeated top seed and two-time defending champion Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, according to the WTA’s final recap and the US Open report. The WTA said the match lasted 2 hours 21 minutes and ended Sabalenka’s 19-match US Open winning streak. It was the pair’s third Grand Slam final, after the Australian Open finals in 2023 and January 2026.

A separate WTA release on September 14 said Rybakina began her first week at No. 1. The earlier announcement describes when the ranking outcome became known; the later one describes when the updated list took effect. Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan, man or woman, to reach No. 1 in WTA singles and the 30th woman to hold the ranking.