Sabalenka thinks it is over against Noskova, then closes with an ace to reach a sixth straight US Open semifinal
Aryna Sabalenka beat Linda Noskova (No. 6) 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (7) in the quarterfinals of the US Open 2026 to reach a sixth consecutive semifinal in New York and her 15th at Grand Slam level. The world No. 1 trailed 4-2 in the deciding set and won the final tie-break 10-7, sealing it with an ace on a second serve at her first match point.
Aryna Sabalenka, US Open 2026 | © PsNewz
Aryna Sabalenka spent the third set believing she had lost it and served an ace on a second serve to win it, the Belarusian top seed beating Czech No. 6 seed Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (7) on Tuesday evening in New York to reach the US Open semifinals for a sixth consecutive year.
Almost every number belonged to the loser. Noskova hit 46 winners to 42 and made 25 unforced errors to 30, served 18 aces to 12, won 78 points on serve to 68, and converted three of her six break points where Sabalenka took two of nine.
What she did not do was win the tie-breaks: Sabalenka took the first 7-1 and the deciding one 10-7, and has now won ten out of ten tie-breaks at this tournament.
Noskova led 4-2 in the third set, and Sabalenka said afterwards that she had written the match off at that point. “Honestly thought that that’s it, the match is over, and probably that’s what helped me to feel loose and just go after my shots,” she said.
n the second serve she hit for an ace on her first match point: “This kind of tie-breaks under such high pressure definitely boost my confidence and my energy and my motivation. I’m super glad that somehow I made that ace. It was very important point and it just shows that I’m ready to fight.”
Pegula or Navarro next
It was her 18th consecutive win at the US Open, her 45th of the season, and it carried her to a 15th Grand Slam semifinal and a sixth in a row here. The two-time defending champion still has to win the title to keep the world No. 1 ranking she has held since October 21, 2024.
Sabalenka plays the winner of the all-American quarterfinal between No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 26 seed Emma Navarro. Asked what she would work on before it, she named the shortcoming of her evening. “Maybe a bit better game on the net, to be honest. Today a couple times I came to the net, but I wasn’t quite ready, so we’ll work a little bit extra on that part of my game.”
