Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina has commented on her victory at the 2026 US Open, admitting that before the tournament began she had not expected such a result because of an injury, and that even after the final it was hard for her to fully grasp the scale of her triumph, the website infohub.kz reports.
In the decisive match, Rybakina beat Arina Sabalenka in three sets – 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. The Kazakh player became US Open champion for the first time and claimed her third Grand Slam title after Wimbledon 2022 and the Australian Open 2026.
Immediately after the final, Rybakina admitted that her result in New York had come as a surprise even to herself.
"Honestly, I didn't expect anything like this when I came to this tournament. There was a small injury, but somehow everything came together. I can't find the words, sorry," Rybakina said during the trophy ceremony.
Elena also paid tribute to Sabalenka, who could have won the US Open for the third year in a row.
"Arina, you are a great champion. It's so hard to play against you. You gave your maximum, you were just dying out there on the court, and I was trying to get every ball back. I want to congratulate you and your team. You guys do incredible work."
The final was the second meeting between Rybakina and Sabalenka in a Grand Slam title match in 2026. In January, the Kazakh player beat the Belarusian in the Australian Open final.
Rybakina separately thanked the fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The victory was especially meaningful for her given her previous results at the US Open.
"I want to say thank you to such wonderful fans for the amazing atmosphere. Honestly, I've been playing here for 10 years, right? I've never done well, nothing close to what happened this year. So it's just incredible."
During the ceremony, the tennis player also addressed the people who helped her achieve the result.
"Thank you so much to my team. Stefanos, Stas, my family, all my friends. Thank you so much, guys, you are the best! Without you, all of this would have been unreal."
Rybakina ended her speech with thanks to the tournament organizers and admitted that she herself had not yet fully come to terms with what had happened.
"This atmosphere is just something incredible. Everything seems unreal. So thank you so much to everyone. And, yes, I'm looking forward to next year!"
The triumph in New York capped a historic US Open for Rybakina. Even after her quarterfinal win over Zheng, she secured the No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings. She will become the 30th player in history to top the WTA singles rankings.