Gauff vows to avenge US Open loss as Rybakina earns berth in final

Sept. 11 (UPI) — American Coco Gauff said she was hurt by her U.S. Open semifinal loss to Elena Rybakina in Flushing, New York, but vowed to come back stronger.

Gauff took the first set and then lost the last two in Thursday’s semifinals to Rybakina, who will move up to No. 1 in the WTA Tour singles rankings on Monday.

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“Did my best,” Gauff wrote on social media Friday. “New York, thank you. It hurts, but I’ll be back.”

Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat Gauff 5-4 on aces, 4-3 on break points converted and 22-20 on winners in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win on Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Thanks to this victory, she completed the final meeting with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who will drop to second place in the updated rankings on Monday.

Gauff, who won the US Open in 2023, lost in the fourth round in 2024 and 2025. She has reached at least the quarterfinals in five of her last eight Grand Slam appearances, including her French Open triumph in 2025.

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“That’s the goal,” Gauff told reporters at the post-match press conference. “I want to be a consistent player. I want to be able to give myself as many opportunities as possible to win a trophy.”

“But yes, it hurts. This is all great, but the competitor is in me [says] this is a tournament [where] I want to come out with a victory. It’s definitely a learning experience and I hope to continue to put myself in positions where I can hope to win.”

Gauff, 22, is 45-14 in 2026 and 16-4 in grand slams. These 16 victories were her most at Grand Slam tournaments in one year. She also went 16-4 in 2024, appearing in the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open.

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In 2026, Gauff is 1-2 in finals and won the Cincinnati Open. She is currently 1-2 against Rybakina, with each of those losses coming this summer.

The American expressed optimism at the start of the US Open about her revamped serve and cleaner game. She often loses on double faults and errors, but scored just four on Thursday, her second-lowest score in a three-set match since May.

While Gauff still leads the WTA with 302 double faults this season, she is averaging one fewer double faults in 2026 compared to 2025. Her 5.3 per match this year in Flushing was her second-lowest ever at the U.S. Open, trailing only the 3.7 per match she hit during her 2023 title run.

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“I think it’s confidence that we will continue to improve,” Gauff said. “I look at the other semi-finalists. They are older than me, about three to four years older than me. I’m just trying to think about how much work I’ve put in this year, how far I’ve come.

“Now I’m just excited to keep going for another year, another two years and see where I am at 24, 25 and see where my game can take me and hopefully I can be on the winning end of these matches.”

Earlier on Thursday, Sabalenka advanced with a straight-sets victory over third-ranked Jessica Pegula. The Belarusian, who is seeking a third straight US Open crown, needed just 80 minutes to defeat her American opponent. She outscored Pegula 7-4 in aces, 3-0 in break point conversions and 29-12 in wins.

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Sabalenka and Rybakina will meet in the women’s singles final on Saturday at 4:00 pm ET at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The match will be broadcast on ESPN.

No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany will face No. 50 Karen Khachanov of Russia in the first men’s singles semifinal Friday at 3 p.m. in Flushing. Americans Ben Shelton (number 9) and Frances Tiafoe (number 12) will meet in the second semi-final after this match.

Shelton is on track to climb to No. 4 in the ATP singles rankings thanks to his performance at the US Open. Tiafoe is looking to move up to 8th place, but could move up to 4th if he wins the tournament. The men’s semifinals will also be televised on ESPN. The finale airs Sunday at 2:00 pm on ABC.