It ends a streak of 99 consecutive weeks at the top for Aryna Sabalenka, who has held the position since October 21, 2024 and needed the title here to retain it. All Rybakina needed was to reach the semifinals, and she had never been number one before.
The first set was the first she had lost in two weeks. He responded by taking eleven of the next fourteen games, and he has now beaten Zheng in five of their six meetings and won all seven of his career Grand Slam-level qualifying matches.
Rybakina. “My goal is to win the tournaments I play in”
His reaction was measured to the point of indifference. “It’s just a number now,” he said. “Of course, I’m in the semi-finals, so my goal is to win the tournaments I play in. I play once in a while. It’s an amazing achievement.”
The ranking comes on the heels of the best year of his career. It was her 47th win of 2026, only bettered by Jessica Pegula, and it took her to her fifth Grand Slam semifinal. She is the reigning Australian Open champion, defeating Sabalenka in the final, and the reigning WTA Finals champion, and between last October and March she has won twelve straight against top 10 opponents, including seven against the top 5 and two against the current world No.1.
She was out of the last eight: 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, Spain’s Jessica Buzas Maneiro, Ukraine’s Yulia Starodubtseva – 7-6 (6), 6-3, and Japan’s Yulia Starodubtseva – 7:6 (6), 6.
Zheng up to rank No. 52
Zheng is making his third appearance here as a quarterfinalist, a year after elbow surgery limited him to one tournament between July 2025 and February 2026 and dropped his ranking to 121st, which is why he began this fortnight in qualifying.
She was the first female qualifier to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open since Emma Radukanu in 2021, and a win would make her the first qualifier in the Open era to beat three Grand Slam champions in one major, having already ousted Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5, Russia’s Iga-5, Sviatek after. Liutova: 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and Kazakh Yulia Putintseva: 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. He returns to No. 52 on Monday.
Rybakina plays the winner of the quarterfinals between Russian No. 5 Mirra Andreeva and American No. 4 Coco Gauff.
US Open 2026, Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
A. Sabalenka (1) d. L. Noskova (6): 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7)
J. Pegula (3) d. E. Navarro (26): 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
M. Andreeva (5) vs C. Gauff (4) – did not play
Q Zheng (Q) d. E. Rybakina (2): 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
