Aryna Sabalenka survives drama against Linda Noskova to reach sixth consecutive US Open semifinal
Aryna Sabalenka remained in contention for a third consecutive US Open title after one of the most demanding matches of her campaign in New York this year. The top seed and two-time defending champion defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova 7:6(1), 3:6, 7:6(7) to reach a sixth consecutive semifinal at the season's final Grand Slam tournament. According to official WTA data, the match lasted two hours and 22 minutes, and Sabalenka recovered from a 2:4 deficit in the deciding set. With the victory, she extended her US Open unbeaten streak to 18 matches and reached the 15th Grand Slam semifinal of her career. At the same time, she remained just two victories away from a third consecutive trophy at Flushing Meadows, a feat that has not been achieved in women's singles since Serena Williams between 2012 and 2014.
The quarterfinal played on September 8 at Arthur Ashe Stadium was Sabalenka's first real test at this year's tournament. She had not lost a single set before facing Noskova, but the 21-year-old Czech, who won Wimbledon in July, showed why she had established herself among the world's best players during 2026. According to WTA statistics, Noskova struck 46 winners and 18 aces, while Sabalenka responded with 42 winners and 12 aces. The Czech saved seven of nine break points, and for much of the second and third sets she managed to push the defending champion behind the baseline with a powerful first serve and changes of pace. Sabalenka nevertheless managed to reduce the number of errors in the most important moments, regain the lost break of serve and turn the deciding tie-break into another demonstration of resilience under pressure.
Sabalenka took an early lead, Noskova fought back and forced a tie-break
The start of the match belonged to Sabalenka. According to the WTA report, Noskova lost the first seven points of the contest, and the defending champion quickly moved into a 3:0 lead. Sabalenka also had two opportunities for another break that would have brought her closer to a convincing first-set victory, but Noskova then found her serving rhythm and began to stabilize her game. The Czech player gradually raised the level of aggression on return and forced her opponent into increasingly difficult shots off the first or second ball. When Sabalenka served for the set at 5:4, Noskova took advantage of a weaker service game from the top seed and broke back.
In the first-set tie-break, the balance of power changed sharply once again. Sabalenka won the first six points, while Noskova made several errors that halted the comeback she had produced late in the set. The top seed won the tie-break 7:1 and thereby capitalized on her better start to the match, although it was already clear that the contest would not follow the pattern of her previous rounds. Noskova showed that she could withstand the pace from the baseline and find solutions when Sabalenka seized the initiative. Unlike most of the opponents Sabalenka had defeated on her way to the quarterfinals, the reigning Wimbledon champion was able to create pressure both with her own serve and with an aggressive first shot after the serve.
Noskova took control in the second set
The second set produced the most stable period of Noskova's play. The WTA states that the Czech saved two break points in the very first game and then another at 2:2, preventing Sabalenka from taking early control again. As the set progressed, Noskova increasingly introduced drop shots into her game, moved forward to the net and used changes of pace to disrupt the defending champion's comfortable pattern of powerful exchanges. The pressure paid off in the sixth game, when Sabalenka lost serve with a double fault and fell behind 2:4. Noskova did not surrender that advantage and, after four set points, closed out the set with an ace for 6:3.
It was the first set Sabalenka had lost at the 2026 US Open. More importantly, Noskova showed that her Wimbledon title had not been an isolated peak of the season, but confirmation of a game capable of working on the biggest stages and against the strongest opponents. According to the WTA, she arrived in New York on an 11-match Grand Slam winning streak, having won both Wimbledon and the Berlin tournament before the US Open. The official US Open website states that the quarterfinal in New York was her best result at the tournament, while during the year she entered the WTA Top 10 for the first time. In the match against Sabalenka, her serve was particularly effective: she finished with 18 aces, six more than her opponent, and for large portions of the contest prevented the top seed from establishing sustained pressure on return.
She turned a 2:4 deficit into the turning point
The deciding set was the most dramatic part of the match. Noskova continued to serve at a high level and held a break advantage at 4:2, while Sabalenka was going through a period of visible frustration. According to the WTA's detailed report, Noskova had at that point won ten consecutive points on her own serve, while Sabalenka committed two double faults in the game at 2:2 and found herself under intense pressure. After the match, Sabalenka admitted that at that stage she felt the contest was practically lost. Paradoxically, as she explained, that feeling helped her relax, stop thinking about the outcome and begin striking the ball decisively again.
The change was visible almost immediately. At 2:4, Sabalenka played a disciplined service game and then took advantage of several poorer decisions by Noskova to break back for 4:4. The WTA emphasized that during this period the negative body language that had earlier accompanied her mistakes disappeared and that the defending champion began playing with fewer unforced errors. Noskova continued to create opportunities, but she no longer had the same control over the rhythm. With no further breaks, the set reached the deciding tie-break, which at the US Open at 6:6 is played to ten points, with a mandatory two-point margin.
Noskova took a 2:0 lead in the tie-break, but Sabalenka once again found her best serve exactly when she needed it most. The Czech then made several forehand errors and a double fault, and Sabalenka moved ahead midway through the tie-break. According to the WTA, four of her final five serves were not returned into the court. On her first match point, she finished the contest with an ace on a second serve, a risky move that symbolically summed up the entire finish: instead of choosing the safer option, she decided to attack. The final 10:7 score in the deciding tie-break gave her victory in a match in which she had statistically been outplayed in several important categories.
The numbers confirm how close Noskova came
The statistics explain why Sabalenka spoke after the match about a battle at the limit of her abilities. The WTA states that Noskova had more winners, more aces and a better percentage of break points saved. Sabalenka converted two of nine opportunities to break serve, while Noskova converted three of six. However, the defending champion was more effective in the key moments of both tie-breaks, particularly on serve under the greatest pressure. That was enough to erase the difference across a number of individual statistical indicators and continue her run in New York.
- Sabalenka won 7:6(1), 3:6, 7:6(7), with the deciding tie-break ending 10:7.
- The match lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
- Noskova hit 46 winners and 18 aces, Sabalenka 42 winners and 12 aces.
- Sabalenka recovered from a 2:4 deficit in the third set.
- With the victory, she extended her streak to 18 consecutive wins at the US Open.
- She reached the US Open semifinals for a sixth consecutive year and the 15th Grand Slam semifinal of her career overall.
The official US Open review highlighted that Sabalenka's sixth consecutive semifinal at Flushing Meadows matched the consistency of Serena Williams, who reached the final four in New York every year from 2011 through 2016. During that period, Sabalenka has built an almost equally recognizable connection with the tournament: she played in the semifinals in 2021 and 2022, the final in 2023, and then won the titles in 2024 and 2025. She is now among the final four again, meaning she has once more made it all the way through the tournament's second week regardless of changes in form, opponents and the pressure of defending ranking points.
A third consecutive title remains the main goal
The victory over Noskova kept alive Sabalenka's chance of becoming the first woman since Serena Williams to win three consecutive US Open titles. Williams achieved that run from 2012 through 2014. After the quarterfinal, Sabalenka said that the possibility of a third consecutive title was more important to her than retaining the world No. 1 ranking. That subject became even more relevant on September 9, when Elena Rybakina defeated Zheng Qinwen to reach the semifinal and secured the No. 1 position in the WTA rankings from Monday, September 14.
The change at the top of the rankings does not alter Sabalenka's status as the top seed at the current US Open, nor her immediate objective in the final stages of the tournament. The official US Open announced that Rybakina will become the 30th player to reach No. 1 in the WTA rankings, while Sabalenka continues to attempt to finish the tournament in New York with a third consecutive title. After defeating Noskova, she emphasized that she uses the experience from previous Grand Slam closing stages to ignore outside noise and focus on each next match. That approach will be particularly important because she now faces an opponent she knows well and who in recent years has become a regular obstacle in the latter stages of major tournaments.
Jessica Pegula again in the semifinal
Sabalenka's next opponent will be third seed Jessica Pegula, who defeated Emma Navarro 3:6, 6:4, 6:3 in the all-American quarterfinal. According to the official US Open website, Pegula thereby reached the semifinal of her home Grand Slam tournament for a third consecutive year. Their latest meeting carries additional significance because of their recent history in New York. Sabalenka defeated Pegula in the 2024 US Open final 7:5, 7:5, and then beat her again in the 2025 semifinal, when she came back after losing the first set to win 4:6, 6:3, 6:4.
The US Open states that Pegula trails Sabalenka 4:9 in their head-to-head record. Nevertheless, her form during 2026 suggests that the semifinal will not simply be a continuation of the quarterfinal story without a new test. Pegula has won titles in Dubai and Charleston this season and played several other finals, while in New York she showed against Navarro that she could recover after losing the first set. For Sabalenka, it is another match in which she will have to combine the power of her opening strike with the emotional control that enabled her to recover from an almost lost position against Noskova. According to the tournament schedule, the semifinal is set for September 10 in New York.
Noskova leaves New York after a breakthrough season
The defeat does not diminish the scale of Noskova's progress during 2026. After her Wimbledon triumph, the WTA noted that at the age of 21 she became the youngest Wimbledon champion since Petra Kvitova in 2011. In the final, she defeated compatriot Karolina Muchova 6:2, 5:7, 6:3 to win the first Grand Slam title of her career. Before Wimbledon, she also won the grass-court tournament in Berlin, building one of the most successful stretches of the season on the WTA Tour. In New York, she reached the US Open quarterfinals for the first time and was only a few games away from a second Grand Slam semifinal of the same season against the two-time defending champion.
The official US Open highlighted after the match that Noskova made her Top 10 breakthrough in 2026 and entered the final part of the season as a candidate to qualify for the WTA Finals. Her performance against Sabalenka further demonstrated that she could transfer her success on grass to hard courts. By combining a powerful serve, flat groundstrokes and an increasing willingness to change pace, the Czech managed to disrupt the top seed's game for almost the entire match. The finish belonged to the more experienced opponent, but the margin was minimal and was decided only in the third-set super tie-break.
For Sabalenka, meanwhile, perhaps the greatest value of the victory is not merely another semifinal, but the manner in which she reached it. After a dominant run through the first four rounds, she had to find a solution for the first time at the tournament when her original plan was no longer providing control, when her opponent was serving better and when the scoreboard showed 2:4 in the deciding set. Situations like these often determine Grand Slam tournaments in their closing stages. Sabalenka survived one of them, extended her winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 18 matches and preserved the possibility of crowning a historic run with a third consecutive title.
Sources:
- WTA - report and statistics from the Sabalenka - Noskova quarterfinal, match progression and player comments (link)
- US Open / USTA - official report on Sabalenka reaching a sixth consecutive semifinal and the historical context of the streak (link)
- WTA - report on winning Wimbledon 2026 and the context of Linda Noskova's season (link)
- US Open / USTA - report on Jessica Pegula's victory over Emma Navarro and preview of the semifinal against Sabalenka (link)
- US Open / USTA - confirmation that Elena Rybakina secured the No. 1 WTA ranking from September 14 by reaching the semifinal (link)