The final weekend of the US Open brought a new world No. 1, a second major championship this year for Alexander Zverev and another disappointment for American men hoping to end a long dry spell at the biggest tournaments. Elena Rybakina and Zverev ultimately left New York with the singles trophies after three weeks of play.
Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka in three sets for the women’s championship. Zverev followed with a four-set victory over Ben Shelton on Sunday, stopping the 23-year-old American in his first major final.
Rybakina arrived in New York with plenty working against her. An Achilles injury had forced her to retire from her quarterfinal in Cincinnati, and in seven previous trips to the US Open, she had never made it beyond the fourth round.
This tournament went much differently for the 27-year-old. She worked through a difficult stretch that included matches against Naomi Osaka and Zheng Qinwen before defeating Coco Gauff in the semifinals.
Simply reaching the semifinals was enough for Rybakina to move to the top of the world rankings for the first time. She took over the position from Sabalenka, who had been No. 1 for 99 straight weeks.
The championship gave Rybakina three major titles in her career, each at a different tournament. Her collection now includes Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open, with two of those victories coming during the 2026 season.
Sabalenka came into the final with an opportunity to claim a third consecutive championship in New York. She managed to force the match into a deciding set, but Rybakina won the third 6-2 and ended that run.
The men’s tournament had a streak of a different kind hanging over it. Andy Roddick was the most recent American man to capture one of tennis’ four major singles tournaments, doing it in New York back in 2003, and Shelton entered Sunday one victory away from finally putting a new name on that list.
His path included a marathon quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz. Shelton came through after four hours and 28 minutes of play, with the match finally ending at 3:33 in the morning.
It was part of a very long day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. All four quarterfinal matches played there on Sept. 8 needed every possible set, adding up to 13 hours and 47 minutes of tennis.
Zverev proved harder for Shelton to solve in the final. The German won the opening two sets before Shelton responded by taking the third, but Zverev moved back ahead early in the fourth and did not give up the advantage.
There was a strange moment when the match ended. Zverev had lost track of the score and initially moved behind the baseline as though he was getting ready for another point before realizing the championship was already his.
It was a much different ending from his previous US Open final. In 2020, Zverev took the opening two sets against Dominic Thiem and came close to the championship before losing the match in five.
This time he left with the trophy and $5.5 million in prize money. Rybakina received the same amount for winning the women’s championship, while players who made the main singles draw received $140,000.
Zverev now has two major championships, and both came in 2026. He captured the French Open earlier this year, reached the Wimbledon final and finished the Grand Slam season with a 25-2 record.
Shelton’s loss means Roddick remains the last American man to win one of the four major singles tournaments. The next chance for that to change comes at the Australian Open in January, while Shelton leaves his first major final having gotten within one victory of doing it himself.
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