A new queen of New York

Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 at the US Open, taking the title from the two-time defending champion.

Third Grand Slam in hand

The win is Rybakina's third major, after Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Only the French Open now stands between her and the full set.

The ranking finally feels earned

Rybakina reached No 1 with a quarter-final win that felt odd to celebrate mid-tournament. She said she could not enjoy it yet. The trophy settled that.

Both hard-court Slams

She became only the third woman this century to win the Australian Open and the US Open in the same season.

The three-peat that wasn't

Sabalenka wanted to be the third woman in the Open era to win New York three years running. She fell one match short.

Tears and a promise

Sabalenka was left crying after the loss, vowing to 'do better' next year.

“do better”

Focus was the whole plan

All fortnight Sabalenka talked about tuning out the noise, the questions about her form, the threat to her ranking, and pouring everything into the court.

Bubbling over from the start

She walked out already frustrated, picking at flaws in her own game in the opening games rather than settling into the match.

Calm against chaos

The pair traded early holds, but Rybakina looked untroubled while Sabalenka came apart. The contrast made the Kazakh's ease look even sharper.

Fifteen errors to five

Sabalenka piled up 15 unforced errors to Rybakina's five, each one met with raised hands, a tipped-back head and frantic signals to her box.

A warning, then a break

A double fault handed Rybakina the first-set break. Smacking a ball away in frustration earned Sabalenka a code violation warning.

Winning without the big serve

Rybakina landed only 27 per cent of first serves in the opener. Her second serve was accurate enough to keep hurting Sabalenka anyway.

Bullying the Belarusian's serve

Rybakina stretched out Sabalenka's service games and pushed her onto the back foot, converting the fifth break point of the game for 3-2.

The hold that held the set

Rybakina moved to 5-4 and produced a huge 10th game, denying Sabalenka a single break point to close out the opener.

Sabalenka swings it back

Steadier and less self-critical, Sabalenka cut the errors and took the second set 7-5. These two rivals often go the distance.

Straight at her in the third

The setback sharpened Rybakina. She attacked Sabalenka's serve from the first game, hunting cracks while holding her own with ease.

The racquet meets the court

A run of Rybakina forehand winners sent Sabalenka spinning, and she smashed her racquet into the floor. The real punishment was the break that followed.

A prayer that went unanswered

Down 2-4, Sabalenka double-faulted to hand over another break point, knelt and rested her head on her racquet. More faults and errors followed.

Finished with an ace

Sabalenka thrashed the court one last time and was all but walking off as Rybakina served the championship-winning ace.

No grace required

Rybakina did not need a gracious opponent to make the night complete. She had the trophy, and the top ranking, instead.