Aryna Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, having secured two titles apiece at the Australian Open and US Open. The star player once again demonstrated her resilience on the courts of New York as she fought her way through a grueling encounter. The two-time defending champion admitted she initially thought her title defence was slipping away during her clash with Linda Noskova, but she rallied brilliantly in a three-set battle to advance to the semi-finals.
For the first time in this year's tournament, the Belarusian competitor was pushed to a deciding third set. She found herself trailing 4-2 in the final stretch and later faced a 2-0 deficit in the tie-break, yet she managed to turn the tide and close out the victory in just under two and a half hours.
A Historic Winning Streak and Rankings Context
This triumph marked the 28-year-old's 19th consecutive victory at the tournament, maintaining an unbeaten streak since the 2023 final. She also made history by becoming the first female player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach six successive semi-finals at Flushing Meadows. The victory allows her to temporarily retain the world number one ranking, though she could still be overtaken at the summit depending on the outcome of Wednesday's match between world number two Elena Rybakina and Zheng Qinwen.
Looking ahead, Sabalenka will square off against either American third seed Jessica Pegula or her 26th-seeded compatriot Emma Navarro as she pursues a fourth consecutive appearance in the US Open final.
Reflecting on her narrow escape, she admitted she was left speechless by the intense physical and mental strain. She noted that she pushed herself to the absolute limit, especially during the third set, and confessed that believing the match was lost ultimately helped her play with greater freedom and go after her shots.
Swings and Turnarounds on the Court
The match began with Sabalenka in complete control as she broke sixth seed Linda Noskova's opening service game and raced to a 5-2 lead before dropping her serve while attempting to close out the set. Although she dominated the subsequent tie-break, double faults proved to be a recurring vulnerability throughout her performance alongside a failure to convert crucial break points.
She squandered three early opportunities in the second set and handed over a break in the sixth game with a costly double fault at 30-40, allowing Noskova to force a decider. After committing two more double faults and dropping her serve for a third time, she appeared completely down and out when Noskova held to love for a 4-2 advantage. However, she responded by claiming the next three games to completely flip the momentum.
Securing the Comeback and Looking Forward
She then secured the tie-break, marking her 10th consecutive tie-break win at the US Open in a run extending back to 2021, and capped off her remarkable recovery with a nerveless second-serve ace. This victory represents only her second quarter-final win since March, following a period where she struggled to replicate her early-season hard-court success from Brisbane, Indian Wells, and Miami onto clay and grass surfaces.
After suffering round-of-16 exits in Toronto and Cincinnati during her preparations, she has rediscovered her elite form at a venue where she boasts a flawless quarter-final record across six attempts. Meanwhile, Noskova's impressive run of 11 consecutive singles victories at Grand Slams was halted despite hitting more winners, fewer unforced errors, and successfully saving seven of her nine break points.
