Rybakina Wins US Open, Zverev Faces Shelton Tonight

When Aryna Sabalenka sent her last return long on Saturday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the chair umpire fell silent for a moment, then the whole arena rose to its feet. Elena Rybakina dropped to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and after a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win became the first player to deny Sabalenka a third straight title at the same tournament.

It is Rybakina’s first US Open title, and according to the WTA’s own website, it ended Sabalenka’s reign in New York. The match was anything but straightforward. The Kazakhstani took the opening set, the Belarusian hit back to level things at 7-5 in the second, but in the third set Rybakina produced the best tennis of the day and closed it out in routine fashion, 6-2.

The final’s statistics back that up. Rybakina fired 12 aces against just 5 double faults, while Sabalenka managed 6 aces and 3 double faults. The gap on break points is even more striking: Rybakina converted 3 of 12 chances, Sabalenka just 1 of 3. Add up every point played and Rybakina won 103 of 193, Sabalenka 90.

The men’s final is today, Sunday, September 13, on the same court. Alexander Zverev, the top seed, faces ninth seed Ben Shelton starting at 2 p.m. New York time, or 8 p.m. in Serbia. Tickets for the match sold out long ago.

Zverev leads their head to head 5-0, and the two last met at the ATP Finals in Turin at the end of 2025, where the German won 6-3, 7-6(6). He also beat Shelton in the Munich final that same year. Neither man had an easy road to the final. Shelton got past Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semifinal, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, and at age 24 is playing his first Grand Slam final. Zverev reached the final by beating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6), his third straight final at a major.

The prize money raises the stakes further. Tonight’s winner takes home $5.5 million, the runner-up $2.8 million. For Shelton, the stakes go beyond the money. He is trying to end a 23-year drought without an American man winning a Grand Slam title, and to become the first Black American man to hold the US Open trophy since Arthur Ashe did in 1968.

Ahead of the match, Shelton described what it feels like to face his first major final, in comments carried by Al Jazeera.

“This is completely uncharted territory for me. I’m finding myself in positions I’ve never been in before, I’ve beaten guys I’d never beaten before. I’m just happy that I get to put it all on the line,” said Ben Shelton, US Open finalist.

Until yesterday, all we knew was that Zverev and Shelton had booked their spots in the final, while the women’s side was still an open question. Now the picture is complete: one champion is already crowned, and the other title will be decided tonight.

Serbian fans have a secondary storyline to follow out of New York. Novak Djokovic was already eliminated in the first round, losing in five sets to Argentina’s Mariano Navone, but that does not close out his season. His name appears on the entry list for the ATP tournament in Beijing, which starts September 30. He has won there six times, most recently in 2015.

When the lights go out tonight at Arthur Ashe, New York will have crowned both of its champions for the season. Rybakina finished her job calmly and convincingly, with no drama in the third set. Shelton against Zverev remains an open question. Head to head history favors the German, but form and a full stadium behind him count for something on their own. The next date on tennis fans’ calendars is already set: Beijing, starting September 30.