Rybakina and Zverev close Grand Slam year with first US Open titles
Elena Rybakina and Alexander Zverev finished tennis's Grand Slam year as first-time US Open champions in New York.
Both triumphed at the final major of 2026, the last of the four Grand Slams that anchor the season alongside the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, according to The Guardian. No repeat winners. Two new names on the trophy.
Rybakina struck first. On Saturday, 12 September she beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to take the women's singles title, as reported by US Open. Sabalenka arrived as the two-time defending champion. Rybakina took the opening set, dropped the second, then pulled clear in the third. Nerve held. Then it broke open.
Zverev followed on 13 September. He defeated home hope Ben Shelton in four sets to claim his first US Open title, according to The Guardian. Shelton had the crowd. Zverev had the longer answers.
Rybakina's route was brutal and deliberate. She beat Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 earlier in the fortnight, as reported by Reuters. She then faced Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-final and Coco Gauff in the semi-final. Against Gauff she lost the first set and had to reset, eventually winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to book the final against Sabalenka, according to Reuters. Each match asked a different question. Her serve gave the same reply.
Zverev started as the top seed, the No. 1 name in the draw whose seeding keeps the highest-ranked players apart in the early rounds. He needed all of that protection. He survived a near five-hour marathon against Lorenzo Sonego in the first round, according to The Guardian. He later played Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals. The other semi-final was an all-American tie between Frances Tiafoe and Shelton. Tiafoe had earlier beaten Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16.
What makes this stand out is the patience in both wins. Rybakina twice lost a set in her last two matches and did not rush the next one. She lengthened the rallies, waited for the short ball, then struck. Zverev's fortnight ran the other way, from survival to control, holding his level while big hitters around him faded.
New York remembered the rest too. The tournament's closing gallery was titled 'Dogs, bands and pre-match outfits: best images from the US Open tennis 2026', published on 14 September 2026. It gathered the fortnight beyond the baselines, from arrivals to animals to late-night crowds. The tennis stopped. The pictures kept rallying.
