Sabalenka Keeps US Open Three-Peat Hopes Alive

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, September 7, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Aryna Sabalenka has reached the US Open final in each of her last three visits. She’s won back-to-back titles, in 2024 and 2025, each time beating an American to win the title. 

In the fourth round Sunday afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the World No. 1 and top-seeded Sabalenka from Belarus, who is looking to become the first player to win three consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams (2012-14), faced another American opponent. This time, it was lefty Taylor Townsend for a berth in her sixth-consecutive US Open quarterfinal round. It was their first meeting – and it would be a memorable one.

Although Sabalenka’s serve was broken four times by Townsend, she converted seven of 14 break-point opportunities – and that was a difference maker, especially after coming from 3-1 down in the second set. Sabalenka became the first woman to reach this year’s quarterfinals with her 6-4, 6-3 victory over the 96th-ranked Townsend in one hour and 15 minutes. She’s now 6-1 in US Open fourth-round matches and Sunday’s triumph extended her US Open winning streak to 17 straight.

Sabalenka hit 14 winners, made 14 unforced errors and outpointed Townsend 63-50. At Grand Slam events, Sabalenka has now won her last 42 matches against opponents ranked outside the Top 50 – and at this year’s US Open, she’s yet to drop a set through her first four matches.

During her on-court interview, Sabalenka praised Townsend, who is co-World No. 1 in doubles with Katerina Siniakova of Czechia. “What an incredible player she is, approaching the net, what a great returner,” she said. “She’s very brave and you could see how focused she was. It was really challenging playing her, especially here. Thank you for being so respectful toward me. … I really appreciate it and I’m happy to be through this really tough opponent. …

“I was trying to stay focused on myself, playing not only point by point but ball by ball. I’m happy I was able to turn it on in the second set.” 

 

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Sabalenka must make it a three-peat of the US Open title if she is to retain her World No. 1 ranking following the year’s final major. She was asked about the thoughts of losing her No. 1 ranking, which she has held continuously since October 21, 2024, during her post-match news conference.

“Probably they don’t understand how hard it is mentally and physically to keep up the level and mentally stay kind of like disconnected from that, because the moment you start thinking about that, like, you lose it,” she said. “So probably they don’t understand how tough mentally it is not to focus on that and, like, constantly focusing on improving yourself.”

World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, World No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States and World No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States all stand in the wings should Sabalenka falter, each with a shot at No. 1 during the New York City fortnight.

Next, Sabalenka will face Wimbledon champion and No. 6 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia, who needed six match points to eliminate No. 11 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. 

Despite failing to convert five earlier match points – the first two coming in the second set an hour earlier – Noskova got through her fourth-round duel with Kostyuk, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, in two hours and 27 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium. It was Noskova’s 11th-straight Grand Slam victory. She  overcame 37 unforced errors to hit 27 winners and outpointed Kostyuk 105-104.

“I feel like a huge rock fell off my heart in the end,” Noskova said during her on-court interview after beating Kostyuk for the second-straight time, including the semifinals of this year’s Wimbledon Championships. It was Noskova’s 33rd  victory of the season.

“Today was very close. It could’ve ended both ways,” Noskova admitted. “Marta is a huge competitor, so I knew it was going to be tough since the beginning – especially with all the chances I had in the second set. It was still very tough to restart in the third set.”

Noskova was ahead 5-4 with two match points on her racquet in the second set, but Kostyuk erased them both and wound up winning the set to force a decider. In the end it was the Czech star’s eighth Top 20 win of 2026.

 

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Alcaraz is back and looks fit after Paul triumph

Two-time US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is a creator and an entertainer. He has accumulated the highest US Open winning percentage (.903) of any man during the Open Era (since 1968), winning 28 of 31 – a remarkable achievement for anyone. Now that he’s healthy, after a four-month respite due to a right wrist injury, Alcaraz is packing fans into Arthur Ashe Stadium for each of his matches at this year’s US Open – and he’s just three wins away from successfully defending his 2025 crown.

On Sunday afternoon, Alcaraz won his 18th-straight Grand Slam match – a personal best – and completed a set of wins at all four majors against American Tommy Paul. The World No. 3 and second-seeded Spaniard defeat the No. 20 seed Paul, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 21 minutes to advance to the quarterfinal round. The victory was Alacaraz’s seventh against Paul in nine career meetings. 

According to the ATP Tour website, Alcaraz is just the 10th man to defeat the same opponent at each of the majors in the Open Era.

With his 26th victory of the season, Alcaraz is safely through to his fifth US Open quarterfinal and 15th quarterfinal at Grand Slam level in his career. He’s reached the last eight in 13 of his last 14 Grand Slam tournaments played.

“I played my game. I tried to play my style,” the 23-year-old Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. “Tommy is such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous and sometimes it is really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time. 

“I tried not to let him stay [high up] on the court and I think I did pretty well to put so much pressure on return games, which for me helped a lot to play relaxed, to play calm and think clearly. I’m really happy with the performance today.”

Alcaraz struck 33 winners, won 75 percent (42 of 56) of his first-serve points, won 23 of 29 (79 percent) exchanges at the net, converted four of 14 break-point chances and outpointed Paul 99-74. 

When Alcaraz was asked during his on-court interview if he’s back to full physical power, he chuckled and said: “I think so. I didn’t expect to reach [at least] the quarterfinals here every year since 2021. So, that shows how special this place is to me. It shows how good I play every time I come here. It doesn’t matter that I was out for four and a half months: Every time that I come here I play my best.”

In Tuesday’s quarterfinal round, Alcaraz will face No. 8 seed Ben Shelton, who powered his way past former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, now ranked 53rd, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 52 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium in Sunday’s featured night session match.

Shelton fired 12 aces and won 84 percent (43 of 51) of his first-serve points. He faced no break points on his serve, struck 32 winners to 17 unforced errors and converted four of six break points. Shelton outpointed Tsitsipas 84-58.

 

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“My team said if I didn’t show up fully focused, they were gonna leave,” Shelton said during his on-court interview. Asked why he dominated Tsitsipas, the American No. 1 said: “I think it was all in my head. I was fully focused today, played a complete match from start to finish and really happy with this performance. My first straightforward match so far this year. I’m happy with the way I played. I’m happy I could play this way in front of you guys.”

 

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American men dominate round of 16 lineup

Five American men have reached the US Open fourth-round lineup, including Alex Michelsen, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Learner Tien. It marks the first time five or more American men have reached this stage since 1995.

Four of the five – all but Tien – were in action on Sunday with quarterfinal berths up for grabs – and a chance to secure two all-American quarterfinals.

Although Paul wobbled against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and was knocked out of the tournament in straight sets, the 22-year-old Michelsen, ranked 46th, upset No. 27 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, 7-6 (6) 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 46 minutes on the Grandstand. The victory lifted Michelsen into the biggest quarterfinal of his career and he’s just the fourth American man in this century to reach a US Open quarterfinal before turning 23.

Michelsen struck 44 winners, which included 12 aces, and he converted three of four break points against Etcheverry. Michelsen outpointed his opponent 105-95 in collected his 27th triumph of the season – the last four at the US Open – and he’s yet to drop a set.

It sets up a tantalizing all-American quarterfinal on Tuesday between Michelsen and the No. 11 seed Tiafoe, who ran his career record on Louis Armstrong Stadium to 10-0 with a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev in two hours and 57 minutes. The win lifted Tiafoe into his fourth US Open quarterfinal.

With his victory over the 2021 US Open champion Medvedev, Tiafoe has now taken down six ATP Top-10 players at majors in his career, the most by any active American man. It was also his first Top-10 win in a Grand Slam since 2024.

“What’s up, Louie,” a smiling Tiafoe said during his on-court interview after achieving his 41st victory of the season, which includes 25 on hard courts. “It’s been amazing playing on this court, the energy man. It’s like the people’s court. I am loving the energy for sure.”

Tiafoe overcame 14 aces and 37 winners from Medvedev by breaking the Russian’s serve five times in eight opportunities. He countered with 31 winners of his own and outpointed Medvedev 119-110.

“What a match,” added Tiafoe, who is a two-time US Open semifinalist. “Daniil has been so good and he has beaten me so many times. This is the first time I have beaten him in a regular match, so I am super pumped up about it.”

The Michelsen-Tiafoe matchup guarantees there will be an American in this year’s US Open semifinals.

 

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Around the US Open

Men’s notable results:

• In doubles, reigning Wimbledon champions and US Open No. 1 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain are through to the round of 16 after winning their second-round match over Matteo Arnaldi of Italy and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 7-5, 6-2, in one hour and 16 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium Sunday afternoon. The co-World No. 1s Heliovaara and Patten, who have won five doubles titles this season, outpointed Arnaldi and Struff 69-56.

Also, American wild cards Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico, who play collegiately at Ohio State University, scored their second-straight upset victory with a 3-6, 7-6 (0), 6-4 win over Olympic champion John Peers of Australia and former Wimbledon champion Marcelo Melo of Brazil in one hour and 51 minutes on the Grandstand. In the first round, Filin and Carpico beat Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos.

Finally, three-time US Open doubles champions Rajeev Ram of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain advanced to the last 16 with an epic 6-7 (2), 7-6 (9), 6-4 victory over No. 10 seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti of France in two hours and 41 minutes on Stadium 17.

Women’s notable results:

• No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States reached her 11th career Grand Slam quarterfinal – her fourth at the US Open – and third major quarterfinal of this year following her 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 16 seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania in an hour and 25 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

 

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Making her 10th main draw appearance at the US Open and 31st Grand Slam main draw appearance, the World No. 3 Pegula made quick work of her fourth-round match against the 36-year-old Cirstea, ranked 17th, who was making her 17th main draw appearance in New York after making her US Open main draw debut in 2008.

The 32-year-old Pegula hit 19 winners, converted seven of 16 break points and outpointed her opponent 74-57.

 

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Next, Pegula will face fellow American and No. 26 seed Emma Navarro, who needed just an hour and 21 minutes to beat No. 21 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, 6-4, 6-2, Sunday evening on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Navarro hit 15 winners and converted four of six break points. The 2024 US Open semifinalist outpointed Kalinskaya 63-49 in winning her 24th match of the season. 

• In doubles, No. 1 seeds Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and Taylor Townsend of the United States have won their first two matches and are through to Monday’s round of 16 against No. 13 seeds Storm Hunter of Australia and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Sunday’s US Open results

Monday’s US Open order of play

By the numbers

• With Learner Tien‘s third-round victory over Jakub Mensik, the 20-year-old from Southern California became the youngest American to reach the US Open fourth round, matching Andy Roddick‘s record, who was also 20-year-old when he reached the round of 16 in 2002.

Tien is also the youngest American player to reach the second week of both hard-court Grand Slams (Australian Open, US Open) since Pete Sampras in 1990.

• At 18, Iva Jovic is the youngest American woman to make three Major round of 16s in a single year since Venus Williams in 1998. 

• In each of the last three Grand Slams, Taylor Townsend has lost to the event’s defending champion: Coco Gauff at Roland-Garros (first round), Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon (first round) and Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open (fourth round).

“Quotable …”

• “My coach was actually quite smart. He explained to me that a best-of-five-sets match doesn’t mean you have to play five sets. I didn’t know that until today, but I am definitely happy with the improvements. Definitely happy that my level is going in the right direction. I am happy to be in the second week.”

– World No. 2 and top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, during his on-court interview Saturday night on Arthur Ashe Stadium after advancing to the fourth round with a 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory in two hours and 26 minutes. It was Zverev’s first non-five set win of the New York City fortnight. He spent a combined nine hours and 26 minutes on court in his first two matches.

• “I couldn’t believe what just happened. We were both in the positive with the winners versus unforced errors, so it was just really, really high level. That gives me a lot of confidence, to be able to beat someone who is playing arguably Top Five tennis right now, with the summer that she’s had. I think if I can replicate that, it’s going to be good.”

– World No. 14 Iva Jovic of the United States, during her post-match news conference Saturday night, after defeating No. 17 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, in three hours and three minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

 

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