The top four seeds will battle for places in the final in the 2026 US Open women’s singles semifinals: top seed Sabalenka faces third seed Pegula, while second seed Rybakina takes on fourth seed Gauff. Sabalenka is seeking a third consecutive title, while Pegula is chasing her first Grand Slam trophy; Rybakina and Gauff are targeting their first and second titles in New York, respectively.
Sabalenka and Pegula meet for the third consecutive year
According to the US Open’s official pre-match information, Sabalenka holds a 9–4 lead in their head-to-head record. Sabalenka won both the 2024 US Open final and their 2025 semifinal. Pegula has a combined 1–5 record in 2026 against the other three semifinalists, with her only win coming against Sabalenka at the grass-court tournament in Berlin.
Both players’ quarterfinals went the full three sets. Ahead of the semifinals, Sabalenka has spent a total of 7 hours and 27 minutes on court at this tournament, dropping just one set; Pegula has spent 8 hours and 16 minutes on court and dropped two sets.
Gauff rallies to advance, Rybakina clinches a ranking milestone
Gauff dropped the opening set against Andreeva in the quarterfinals and saved two match points in the second-set tiebreak before coming back to win 2–6, 7–6, 6–2. Speaking after the match, she said she had given away too many easy points at the start and then tried to regain her feel for the ball; Tiafoe’s earlier comeback had also inspired her.
Rybakina, meanwhile, defeated Zheng Qinwen 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 to reach the US Open women’s singles semifinals for the first time and ensure she will become world No. 1 for the first time when the next WTA rankings are released after the tournament. In her post-match interview, she said she was pleased with the ranking achievement, but her focus for now remained on her next match and trying to win the title.
Rybakina and Gauff have split their two previous meetings, with Rybakina coming from a set down to win the most recent one in the semifinals of the tournament in Canada. According to the official preview, Rybakina has held serve in 92% of her service games and won 70% of her service points at this US Open; both players have already won two Grand Slam singles titles.
Women’s singles semifinal matchups
| Match | Player 1 (seed) | Player 2 (seed) |
|---|---|---|
| Semifinal | Aryna Sabalenka (1) | Jessica Pegula (3) |
| Semifinal | Elena Rybakina (2) | Coco Gauff (4) |
