US Open: Rybakina secures the No. 1 and will face Coco Gauff for a spot in the final; Zverev overcomes his doubts and advances to the semifinals

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina secured her spot Wednesday as the next No. 1 in women's tennis, advancing to the US Open semifinals, where a blockbuster matchup against American star Coco Gauff awaits. In the men's draw, Germany's Alexander Zverev clinched the final semifinal spot and will face Russia's Karen Khachanov, while Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe were already set for the other semifinal.

The other women's semifinal was already set to feature Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who held the No. 1 ranking until this Wednesday, and American Jessica Pegula. While the men's title race is more wide open than ever, with neither Carlos Alcaraz nor Jannik Sinner remaining in the draw, the women's semifinals were dominated by the top four seeds.

This is the second time in US Open history that all top seeds have reached the semifinals, following 1975, and the first time at a Grand Slam since 2009 at Wimbledon. In addition to the battle for the trophy, the WTA No. 1 ranking was also at stake in the women's tournament, a position Rybakina was guaranteed to claim if she reached the semifinals.

End of the road for Zheng, the tournament's dark horse

The Kazakhstani secured a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over China's Zheng Qinwen, the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, and on Monday she will end Sabalenka's reign, which has lasted since October 2024. "When I was a little girl, I never thought I'd turn pro or even play in tournaments like this," Rybakina said, looking back.

"It's a great achievement, and I feel it's something to appreciate and reflect on even more once your career is over; now we have to keep moving forward," emphasized Rybakina, winner of Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open this year.

At 27 years and 89 days, she became the second-oldest player to reach the No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings for the first time, behind only Germany's Angelique Kerber (28 years old).

Had she lost to Zheng, Rybakina would have allowed Sabalenka, Pegula, or Gauff to reach No. 1 if they had won the title. Holding her nerve, the Kazakhstani was able to bounce back against Zheng after losing the first set and clinch the double title after two hours and 14 minutes of play.

For the Chinese player, it marked the end of her tournament marking her return to the elite level following a long recovery from last year's elbow injury.

Coco Gauff saves two match points to reach the semifinals

In another of the many comebacks in the quarterfinals, Coco Gauff saved two match points to defeat young Russian Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2. The American continues to thrill her massive fan base by reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2023, the year of her first Grand Slam title on home soil.

The American, who had not dropped a set in this tournament, was plagued by her old serving problems in this clash between the last two Roland Garros champions. Andreeva claimed the first set decisively, and the second set went to a tiebreak in which she let Gauff off the hook by squandering two match points with two missed forehands.

The Russian, who won her first Grand Slam in June at Roland Garros, did not recover from this missed opportunity and, completely flustered, allowed Gauff to reach the finish line and celebrate by pounding her chest with pride. "I was just trying to walk off the court with no regrets," Gauff said.

Zverev, the favorite, reaches the semifinals without convincing

As Wednesday's action began, Flushing Meadows was still reeling from the elimination of Spain's Carlos Alcaraz at the hands of local favorite Ben Shelton, in an epic battle that ended just past 3:30 a.m. The reigning champion's defeat ensured that there will be a new US Open champion on Sunday.

On Friday, Shelton will try to secure a spot in that final against his friend Frances Tiafoe, with both vying to become the first American champion since Andy Roddick in 2003. On the other side of the draw, Alexander Zverev advanced with a lackluster victory over Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.

The German, the only player to reach the semifinals at every Grand Slam this year, is now the clear favorite against Russia's Karen Khachanov, who also advanced on Wednesday when Belgium's Alexander Blockx retired due to injury while trailing 6-2, 7-5, and 3-2.