Elena Rybakina secured her rise to world No. 1 with a victory over China’s Zheng Qinwen on Wednesday, guaranteeing she will leave the U.S. Open atop the rankings. Meanwhile, 2023 champion Coco Gauff recovered from a sluggish start to reach the semifinals, where she will face the Kazakh.
A day after Ben Shelton eliminated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the latest-finishing match in U.S. Open history, Alexander Zverev wasted little time wrapping up his quarterfinal as he swept aside Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.
The German top seed will meet Karen Khachanov in the next round after Alexander Blockx retired while trailing the Russian 6-2, 7-5, 3-2.
With Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, Rybakina, the No. 2 seed, Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, and Gauff, the No. 4 seed, all through to the final four, it marks the first time all four top-seeded women have reached a Grand Slam semifinal since Wimbledon in 2009.
Zheng had earned a reputation as a comeback artist at Flushing Meadows but ran out of gas Wednesday, losing 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 as Rybakina chipped away at her defenses after overcoming early mistakes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It’s tough to find words,” said Rybakina, who will dethrone Sabalenka at the top of the world rankings Monday. “It wasn’t maybe the highest level, but I’m glad I pushed through.”
U.S. fan favorite Gauff then got off to a dreadful start before recovering to beat Russian No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Gauff improved her level dramatically as the match wore on, drawing inspiration from compatriot Frances Tiafoe’s recovery from two sets down the previous evening as she saved two match points in the tiebreak.
“Elena, she’s the new world No. 1, so it’s going to be a tough match,” said Gauff. “I’m looking forward to the battle. These are the moments you live for.”
Zverev started his campaign with back-to-back five-set matches and made another sluggish start against his Dutch opponent.
“I think you saw in the first two rounds, I really didn’t play well,” Zverev said.
“In other tournaments I’d be out in the first round, but here I can fight back and play best-of-five sets, play 4 1/2 hours ... I’m definitely happy to be in the semifinals.”
The French Open champion was on the brink of losing the second set but held firm and faced little resistance thereafter to ease into his third New York semifinal.
With 23 Grand Slam match wins this year, Zverev surpassed Boris Becker’s German men’s record of 22 from 1989.
His next opponent, Khachanov, has made the final four at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2022 and can look forward to a rematch of their Tokyo Olympics final, when Zverev won the gold medal.
