Elena Rybakina Moves Closer to World No.1 After Dominating Naomi Osaka
Elena Rybakina is now one win from the No.1 ranking – and she’s not pretending otherwise.
On a brisk, businesslike night in New York, the world No.2 tore through Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 in just 66 minutes, a statement win that pushed her to the brink of overtaking Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the rankings and deepened the sense that this US Open is bending to her will.
“I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t wish this,” Rybakina said when asked about becoming world No.1. “That is definitely one of my goals.”
No dodging. No clichés. She knows exactly what’s at stake.
If she starts like she did against Osaka, it’s hard to argue with her confidence. Rybakina’s serve, already one of the most feared weapons in the game, set the tone from the opening game. Osaka, a four-time major champion trying to re-establish herself at the top level, never really got a foothold.
The first set was brutal. Rybakina bullied her way to 6-1, controlling rallies behind that heavy first serve and backing it up with clean, measured aggression. Osaka, usually so dangerous on hard courts, spent most of the set reacting rather than dictating.
There was a brief flicker of resistance. Osaka raised her level in the second set, showing enough fight to suggest the contest might stretch into a decider. The crowd leaned in, sensing a shift.
It never truly came. The serve shut the door.
Whenever Osaka threatened, Rybakina’s delivery answered. Free points. Unreturnables. Tight holds at key moments. The match never slipped from her grip, and the scoreline – 6-1, 6-4 – told the story of a night where one player’s weapons simply outgunned the other.
That performance alone has convinced Australian great Jelena Dokic that Rybakina should be considered the favourite for the title in New York. On this evidence, it’s a hard case to dispute.
Next up for Rybakina: Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals. And that is no formality.
Zheng stuns Świątek again
Earlier in the day, the tournament absorbed one of its biggest shocks. Six-time grand slam champion Iga Świątek was bundled out in straight sets by Zheng, who produced a comeback that left Arthur Ashe Stadium buzzing.
Świątek led 5-0 in the opening set. She looked in total command. Then the match flipped.
Zheng clawed her way back, game by game, until the impossible suddenly felt inevitable. From 0-5 down to 7-5 up, she ripped off seven straight games, turning a one-sided scoreline into a gut punch for the former world No.1.
“I guess to come back from 0-5 is not lucky, that’s all I can say,” Zheng said afterwards. There was no fortune in it, just resilience and clean, fearless ball-striking.
Once she found her rhythm on the big stage – “it’s been a long, long time since I’ve played here,” she admitted – Zheng never really let go. She carried that momentum straight into the second set, controlling the baseline exchanges and keeping Świątek on the back foot.
The final score – 7-5, 6-3 – reflected a match that started as a rout in one direction and finished as one in the other.
Zheng, who also beat Świątek to win Olympic gold in 2024, underlined how dangerous she can be when she strings matches together. “I haven’t beaten a top-10 player in a while,” she said. “The more matches I play, the more rhythm I get. I just feel really pumped and ready for my next match.”
That next match is Rybakina. One player chasing No.1. The other riding the high of back-to-back wins over a multiple major champion on the sport’s biggest stages. It has the feel of a collision rather than a contest.
Osaka out, Tien and Khachanov in action
For Osaka, the loss officially ends her 2026 US Open campaign. The Japanese star, once the dominant force on hard courts, couldn’t summon the sustained level needed to trouble a locked-in Rybakina. The flashes were there, but they came too late and too rarely.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Learner Tien and Karen Khachanov are currently on court, with a quarter-final meeting against Alexander Blockx on the line. It’s a clear opportunity for both: a path opening up, a chance to push deeper into the second week.
“A bit of a zoo”: US Open crowd under scrutiny
Away from the baseline battles, the atmosphere at Flushing Meadows has become a story of its own.
Influencers with ring lights, constant movement in the stands, camera flashes and bright lighting during play – several matches have been disrupted, and patience among players and umpires is wearing thin. Coco Gauff and Osaka are among those who have spoken about the behaviour, stressing that while they welcome new fans, the sport’s basic etiquette has to be respected.
Big screens around the grounds now carry messages urging spectators to avoid using bright lights and to cut out disruptive content creation during points. It’s damage control in real time.
Not everyone is convinced it’s enough. French veteran Adrian Mannarino, knocked out in doubles, didn’t sugarcoat his view of the new environment. The smell of marijuana drifting through the grounds, people moving mid-point, influencers filming content – for him, it has all combined into something far from the traditional image of a grand slam.
He summed it up bluntly: the US Open has turned “into a bit of a zoo.”
Wimbledon draws a line
One tournament is already making sure it doesn’t follow that path.
Wimbledon has confirmed it has no plans to open its doors to a wave of influencers in 2027. Ring lights will be banned from the All England Club, with organisers determined to prevent the kind of disruptions seen in New York. Content creators are not expected to receive accreditation, a clear signal that the Championships intend to protect their famously strict code of conduct.
Where Flushing Meadows has leaned into noise, chaos and a looser feel, Wimbledon is doubling down on control and tradition.
Two slams. Two very different visions of tennis as entertainment.
In the middle of it all, players like Rybakina and Zheng are cutting through the circus with performances that demand attention on their own. The question now is simple: when the dust and the ring lights settle, whose name will this wild New York fortnight belong to?
