From injury fears to triumph, ‘everything aligned’ at US Open, Elena Rybakina says

The Kazakh beat holder Aryna Sabalenka little more than three weeks after ankle injury raised questions over whether she would even compete

The stars aligned in Elena ⁠Rybakina’s favour for a US ⁠Open triumph the Kazakh never expected ⁠on Saturday, as she leaves New York the champion and new world No 1 despite an injury that almost derailed her campaign.

Rybakina beat the twice defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the trophy little more than three weeks after an ankle injury that forced her out of the ‌Cincinnati tune-up tournament, raising serious questions over whether she would even compete in New York.

“I was so upset. I didn’t know actually how it’s going to be day by day. We arrived in New York. We did MRI. It didn’t look that great. We had to talk with a lot of doctors to get opinions [on] what we should do,” she said.

“For seven days I was just going from ⁠my hotel room to the gym, three hours there spending, a lot of recovery, treatments.”

Fears over her fitness slowly ‌melted away through a series of comprehensive victories, as she beat twice winner Naomi Osaka to get past the fourth round for the first time and overcame the 2023 ‌champion Coco Gauff in the semi-final.

And she marched confidently into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, ⁠having already assured an ⁠end to Sabalenka’s 99-week run at the top of the rankings.