Zverev and Rybakina Win 2026 US Open Singles Titles

Alexander Zverev secures his first US Open title, and Elena Rybakina ends Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third consecutive championship.

Alexander Zverev has won his first US Open title after beating Ben Shelton in four sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium, completing a remarkable Grand Slam season with his second major championship of 2026.

The German defeated the home favourite 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in Sunday’s men’s singles final in New York. Zverev added the US Open crown to the Roland-Garros title he won earlier this year and finally erased the memory of his defeat in the 2020 final.

His victory came 24 hours after Elena Rybakina ended Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third successive women’s title. The Kazakh beat the two-time defending champion 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to win her first US Open and third Grand Slam singles crown.

The two finals brought contrasting stories together. Zverev confirmed his status as one of the leading men’s players of 2026, while Rybakina completed her rise to the top of the women’s rankings with another major victory.

World in Sport’s US Open 2026 preview identified Zverev and Rybakina among the leading contenders before the tournament. Both ultimately converted that promise into the biggest prizes available at Flushing Meadows.

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Zverev takes control of men’s final

Zverev entered Sunday’s final as the top seed and with considerably more experience at this stage of a major.

Shelton, seeded eighth, was appearing in his first Grand Slam final. The American had reached it by beating Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-American semi-final.

That made Shelton the first Black American man to reach the US Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972. Victory would also have made him the first American man to win any Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick lifted the US Open trophy in 2003.

Zverev prevented either landmark.

The German settled quickly and took the opening set 6-3. He then faced a much tighter second set as Shelton’s serve and aggressive tennis began to place him under greater pressure.

Neither man gave enough away to avoid a tie-break, but Zverev took command once it began. He won it 7-2 to move two sets ahead and leave Shelton facing a long route back into the contest.

Shelton refused to disappear.

The 23-year-old found the break he needed in the third set and took it 7-5, giving the crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium genuine hope that the final might turn.

Zverev responded immediately.

Rather than allowing the momentum to build behind Shelton, he regained control early in the fourth. His serve remained reliable, while his greater consistency from the baseline increasingly forced Shelton to take risks.

The fourth set ended 6-2, giving Zverev the championship. The match lasted three hours and 37 minutes. He finished with nine aces and 35 winners.

The official US Open match report confirmed his second major title of the year.

A very different ending from 2020

The significance of the victory goes beyond another trophy.

Zverev reached his first US Open final in 2020 and led Dominic Thiem by two sets before losing in five. Six years later, he returned to the same stage as a Grand Slam champion and handled the decisive moments far better.

His route through the tournament had not been straightforward either.

Zverev needed five sets in each of his opening two matches before finding greater efficiency later in the fortnight. By the semi-finals, he had spent more time on court than any previous US Open men’s semi-finalist on record at that stage.

He then beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) to reach a third consecutive major final.

Zverev’s 2026 Grand Slam record now contains a Roland-Garros title, a Wimbledon final and the US Open championship. He also reached the Australian Open semi-finals.

That consistency has changed the conversation around a player who spent years being judged by the major title missing from his record.

Shelton leaves New York without the trophy, but his run still represented an important step. Before beating Tiafoe, he eliminated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarter-final that finished at 3.33 am

World in Sport had highlighted Shelton’s hard-court credentials before the tournament following his title in Montreal. His first Grand Slam final has reinforced that progress.

Rybakina stops Sabalenka’s three-peat bid

The women’s final produced its own major shift at the top of the sport.

Rybakina defeated Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday to claim her first US Open crown.

It was her third major title after Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open earlier this year. She beat Sabalenka in that Melbourne final as well, making New York their second Grand Slam championship meeting of 2026.

Sabalenka arrived at Arthur Ashe Stadium seeking history.

She had won the US Open in both 2024 and 2025 and was attempting to become the first woman since Serena Williams between 2012 and 2014 to win three consecutive singles titles at Flushing Meadows.

Rybakina stopped the sequence.

She took the first set 6-4 before Sabalenka responded in the second. The defending champion won it 7-5 and appeared to have given herself a route towards another comeback.

Rybakina instead raised her level in the decider.

Her serve became particularly important. She finished the match with 12 aces and won 85 per cent of the points behind her first serve despite landing only 47 per cent of first deliveries. She also produced 36 winners against 24 unforced errors.

The final set moved decisively in her direction. Rybakina took it 6-2 to finish Sabalenka’s 19-match US Open winning streak.

The official US Open women’s final report also confirmed the significance of the result for the rankings.

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Rybakina completes rise to world No. 1

Rybakina’s New York success capped a tournament in which she also secured the world No. 1 ranking for the first time.

She guaranteed the position by beating Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarter-finals. That result ensured she would replace Sabalenka at the top following the US Open.

Rybakina then had to come from behind again in the semi-finals.

Coco Gauff took the opening set before Rybakina recovered to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Sabalenka reached the final by defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2.

Those results produced a final between the top two seeds and two players who have increasingly met in the sport’s biggest matches.

For Rybakina, the title also completed a significant turnaround from the concerns surrounding her preparation. World in Sport’s US Open injury update reported the Achilles problem she suffered during the build-up to New York.

She recovered sufficiently not only to compete, but to win seven matches and claim the championship.

Readers wanting more context on how her new position is determined can read World in Sport’s guide to ATP and WTA tennis rankings.

Two new champions close the US Open

Neither singles champion had previously won the US Open.

Zverev arrived as a Roland-Garros champion trying to prove his first major was the start rather than the culmination of his breakthrough. Rybakina arrived with two Grand Slam titles but had never previously progressed beyond the fourth round in New York.

Both leave as US Open champions.

Each singles winner also earns approximately £4.04 million ($5.5 million) from the tournament’s record prize fund, the largest champion’s payment in Grand Slam history.

The result is particularly painful for Shelton and Sabalenka for different reasons.

Shelton came within one victory of ending a 23-year wait for an American men’s Grand Slam champion. Sabalenka came within one match of completing a US Open three-peat.

For Zverev and Rybakina, the weekend instead strengthened two already outstanding seasons.

Zverev finishes the Grand Slam calendar with two titles and three finals from the final three majors. Rybakina leaves New York with her second major of 2026, her first US Open crown and the world No. 1 ranking.

On the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, both produced their best tennis when the title was on the line.

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