Aryna Sabalenka is into the last 16 of the US Open. The world No 1 beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 6-4 in the third round, and next faces the American Taylor Townsend. She is trying to become the first player since Serena Williams, champion from 2012 to 2014, to win three US Open titles in a row.
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That run follows a summer in which her Grand Slam form fell apart twice.
Two fast wins, and two distractions
Her second-round win took 53 minutes. She beat the debutant Polina Iatcenko 6-1 6-1, which BBC Sport called one of the quickest Grand Slam wins of her career. Iatcenko, ranked 160th, hit three winners to Sabalenka’s 24.
The press conference was less smooth. A reporter suggested she had been at “lots of parties” before the tournament, and Sabalenka replied that posting activities with brands did not mean she had stopped training. Asked whether she was getting serious now, she answered with sarcasm and called for the next question.
Against Rakhimova the complaint was about the air. Sabalenka told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore at the first changeover that she could smell cannabis on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Brendan McIntyre, a spokesman for the US Tennis Association, said the venue could not control what happened beyond its grounds. Sabalenka said afterwards that she shuts out noise from outside and focuses on herself.
How the season turned
The year started strongly. She reached the Australian Open final and then won Indian Wells and Miami back to back. Her defeat to Elena Rybakina in Melbourne was her only loss in her first 27 matches of 2026.
Then came Paris. In the French Open quarter-final she led Diana Shnaider, the world No 25, by a set and 5-3, and then lost 10 games in a row. The Guardian reported that she told the press she wanted to quit tennis, and spoke of falling into a “deep, dark hole”. She later told the paper she had waited 90 minutes before that press conference, and blamed organisers for leaving the roof open in near-hurricane wind.
Naomi Osaka then beat her in the Wimbledon round of 16 in July. Time reported that she had not lost a major match in straight sets for nearly six years. By the start of the US Open her win-loss record had dropped to 17-7, with only one WTA semi-final in five months.
What she stands to lose
The trophy may not be enough to keep her on top. BBC Sport reported that Rybakina takes the No 1 ranking by reaching the semi-finals, even if Sabalenka defends her title. Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff could also replace her if either wins the event.
Sabalenka has held the top ranking for at least 100 weeks, one of 10 women to do so. If she does not win in New York, Time noted, 2026 would be her first year without a major title since 2022. Townsend, who beat 13th seed Shnaider in three sets to reach her, stands next in the way.
