Aryna Sabalenka advances to US Open semifinals

Abi Sarabia M., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 09, 2026

Photo courtesy: Philippine News Agency

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kept her bid for a third consecutive US Open title alive after surviving a tough three-set battle against Czech sixth seed Linda Noskova in New York.

The two-time defending champion secured a 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) quarterfinal victory on Tuesday, advancing to the women’s singles semifinals after two hours and 22 minutes on court.

Sabalenka was pushed throughout the match by Noskova, who forced the world No. 1 into two tiebreaks and took the second set to level the contest.

After comfortably taking the opening-set tiebreak, Sabalenka dropped the second set, 3-6. The deciding set remained tight before the Belarusian prevailed in the match tiebreak, 10-7, sealing the victory with an ace on match point.

The win extended Sabalenka’s unbeaten run at this year’s US Open to five matches. She previously defeated Camila Osorio, Polina Iatcenko, Kamilla Rakhimova and Taylor Townsend on her way to the quarterfinals.

Sabalenka entered the tournament seeking a third straight championship in New York after winning the women’s singles crown in 2024 and 2025.

She will face the winner of the all-American quarterfinal between third seed Jessica Pegula and 26th seed Emma Navarro for a place in the final. At the time of writing, the Pegula-Navarro match was still in progress.

The women’s semifinals are scheduled for September 10, with the championship match set for September 12.