Sabalenka needs the title to stay at No. 1, and she is into the second week again
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 on Friday evening and will play the winner of the match between American Taylor Townsend and Russian Diana Shnaider, the No 15 seed, in the next round
Aryna Sabalenka, 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Aryna Sabalenka has held the World No. 1 ranking since October 2024, and she will hold it for the 99th consecutive week during this fortnight. To hold it beyond the fortnight, she has to win the tournament. Nothing less will do.
She took another step on Friday evening, beating Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the sixth year running. It was her 43rd win of the season and her 37th at this tournament, more than any player has managed here since her main-draw debut in 2018.
Next round she plays the winner between American Taylor Townsend and Russian No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider, first of the three remaining matches between her and the final.
The Belarusian has reached the final on each of her last three visits, winning in 2024 against Jessica Pegula and in 2025 against Amanda Anisimova after losing the 2023 final to Coco Gauff. A third straight title would make her the first woman to win three in a row in New York since Serena Williams, who did it from 2012 to 2014.
Since the start of the decade, only Iga Swiatek, on 110, has won more Grand Slam main-draw matches than Sabalenka’s 108.
Rakhimova, ranked No. 92, arrived in the third round having beaten Barbora Krejcikova, the No. 27 seed and a two-time Grand Slam champion, 7-6 (4), 6-2, five years after Krejcikova had ended her run at this tournament. She had also beaten Spaniard Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-0.
It was her fourth appearance in the third round at a major and her third meeting with a reigning World No. 1, after losing to Swiatek here in 2024 and to Sabalenka at Roland-Garros in 2025. She has one top-10 win in her career, over Jasmine Paolini at Wimbledon last year.
Sabalenka had beaten Colombian Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-4 and qualifier Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 in the opening rounds, dropping four games in the second. She is one of only two players to have won three titles this season, at Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami, alongside Mirra Andreeva.
US OPEN 2026, women’s singles, round 3
A. Sabalenka [1] d. K. Rakhimova: 6-3, 6-4
T. Townsend vs D. Shnaider [15] – not played
M. Kostyuk [11] d. E. Alexandrova [18]: 6-3, 6-2
A. Li [29] vs L. Noskova [6] – not played
J. Pegula [3] vs L. Fernandez [31] – not played
S. Cirstea [16] d. J. Paolini [19]: 6-3, 6-3
E. Svitolina [9] vs A. Kalinskaya [21] – not played
E. Navarro [26] vs K. Muchova [7] – not played
M. Andreeva [5] vs N. Bartunkova – not played
A. Potapova [24] vs A. Anisimova [10] – not played
I. Jovic [14] vs A. Eala [17] – not played
C. Bucsa vs C. Gauff [4] – not played
I. Swiatek [8] vs M. Bouzkova [25] – not played
M. Keys [22] vs Q. Zheng (Q) – not played
N. Osaka [13] vs E. Mertens [23] – not played
Y. Starodubtseva vs E. Rybakina [2] – not played
