US Open 2026: Finals Weekend — Sabalenka vs. Rybakina
Women's final headlines Day 14 as Shelton awaits Zverev on Sunday in the men's decider
Finals Weekend Opens: Sabalenka vs. Rybakina Headlines Saturday at Flushing Meadows
September 12, 2026 — Day 14, 2026 US Open Tennis Championships
September 12, 2026 is Women's Final day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and the 2026 US Open has delivered a marquee championship match:
top seed Aryna Sabalenka faces the new WTA world No. 1 Elena Rybakina
on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the 4:00 p.m. ET start live on ESPN. Sabalenka is bidding for a US Open three-peat; Rybakina is playing her first-ever US Open final. On the men's side,
eighth seed Ben Shelton meets top seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final at 2:00 p.m. ET on ABC
. Thursday's semifinals confirmed it all:
Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2
, and
Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium
. On the men's side,
Shelton beat Tiafoe in four sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5) to reach the first Grand Slam final of his career
. Live title odds for both finals are updated in real time at the WeeBet US Open hub — track positions and place your bets there.
Tournament Snapshot — September 12, 2026
- Prize pool$0MRecord 2026
- Women's Final0:00 PM ETESPN
- Men's Final0:00 PM ET SunABC
- Sabalenka US Open Finals0 straightSabalenka
- Last US Open final (Rybakina)First everRybakina
The 2026 US Open offered a record $108 million in total player compensation — the largest package in tennis history, an increase of 21% from 2025.
The men's and women's singles champions each receive $5,500,000, a 10% increase from the $5,000,000 awarded in 2025, while runners-up receive $2,800,000.
Women's Final: Sabalenka vs. Rybakina — The No. 1 vs. The Former No. 1
This is the defining match of the women's 2026 season compressed into two hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium's blue hard court.
Sabalenka is playing her fourth straight US Open final.
Rybakina holds the 2022 Wimbledon trophy and this season's Australian Open title, but this is her first US Open final — she had never advanced past the fourth round in New York until 2026.
The head-to-head ledger between these two is the critical context.
Rybakina and Sabalenka have met 17 times on the WTA Tour, with Rybakina winning the last two tilts — earning the Australian Open and WTA Finals titles.
However,
Sabalenka has won the two most recent meet-ups — the championship match at Indian Wells and in the Miami Open semis en route to winning that title.
Women's Final Head-to-Head (2026 context)
| Metric | Sabalenka | Rybakina |
|---|---|---|
| All-time H2H wins | 9 | 8 |
| 2026 H2H wins | 2 | 2 |
| US Open finals played | 4 | 1 (first) |
| US Open titles | 2 | 0 |
| Grand Slam titles total | 5 | 3 |
After her match against Gauff, Rybakina said that she needed to be more "aggressive" with her shots and step up her service game to compete against Sabalenka.
Sabalenka's path through Thursday was clinical:
she and Pegula traded holds of serve for the first 11 games of the first set, but the top seed was able to break the American's serve in the final game of the set to swipe the opener 7-5
, before accelerating to a dominant 6-2 second.
Check live women's final title odds — updated as the match progresses — at WeeBet's US Open hub.
Men's Semifinal Recap: Shelton Beats Tiafoe in Historic Match
Friday night's men's semifinal between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe was laden with historical weight.
It was the first-ever Grand Slam semifinal to feature two Black American men, and the winner would become the first Black American man to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
With all that history at stake, the two delivered a tremendous, tense match that ended in Shelton winning in four sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5) to reach the first Grand Slam final of his career.
The American run has been the story of the fortnight — ten US players reached the round of 16, the most at any Grand Slam since 2002, and Ben Shelton against Frances Tiafoe guaranteed an American man in the final for the first time since Andy Roddick won the title in 2003.
Men's Final Preview: Shelton vs. Zverev (Sunday)
Sunday's final at 2:00 p.m. ET on ABC pits the tournament's great American story against Alexander Zverev's sustained excellence.
Zverev has 23 major match wins in 2026, breaking Boris Becker's German record for a single season.
Shelton, the No. 8 seed, has been the tournament's most galvanizing presence on home soil — his booming serve and aggressive game plan dismantled the defending champion en route.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is out, beaten in the quarterfinals by Ben Shelton in a match that finished at 3:33 a.m. — the latest ending in US Open history.
Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka were the men's and women's singles defending champions respectively entering the tournament.
Alcaraz's exit in the quarters fundamentally reshuffled the men's draw odds; Zverev emerged as the clear market leader from that point. The men's final event contracts remain live at WeeBet's US Open hub, where Sunday's outright winner market will update as conditions develop.
Rankings Storyline: New World No. 1 Guaranteed
The women's draw produced a rankings seismic shift that extends well beyond the trophy.
Elena Rybakina clinched world No. 1 for the first time by reaching the semifinals, ending Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top of the WTA rankings.
That means Saturday's final is the first US Open women's final since at least the Open Era to pit the new world No. 1 against the player she displaced. Whoever wins the trophy also wins the rankings argument — at least temporarily.
Sabalenka still chases a third straight US Open title.
From a market perspective, that institutional success at Flushing Meadows — four consecutive finals, two titles — has anchored Sabalenka as the favourite in most pre-match assessments, even against a player now ranked above her.
What Was Lost: Gauff, Pegula, and the American Dream
Coco Gauff's pursuit of a second US Open title came to an end on Thursday.
With former first lady Michelle Obama looking on and a very pro-American crowd cheering for Gauff, the US star never faced a break point and only lost four points on her first serve
in the first set — yet Rybakina's second-set shift was categorical.
The women's side had produced a remarkable statistic earlier in the tournament: all four top seeds reached the semifinals for the first time since 1975.
Pegula and Gauff, both eliminated on September 11, leave the title in overseas hands regardless of Saturday's outcome.
The US men's final berth — via Shelton — provides the partisan crowd at Arthur Ashe one more reason to return on Sunday.
Today's Key Betting Watch Points
Women's final dynamics to monitor at WeeBet:
- Rybakina's serve: Her first-serve percentage in the Gauff match dipped early. Any improvement on Saturday meaningfully shifts the competitive dynamic against Sabalenka's aggressive return game.
- Sabalenka's forehand consistency: She converted on break points against Pegula's second-serve when the American's confidence dipped. A tight first set suggests the match goes deep.
- Set betting and game totals: Given both players' heavy-hitting baselinegames, early set markets could offer value once live game scores are available — track live at the WeeBet hub.
Men's final (Sunday) watch:
- Shelton's first-serve percentage and ace rate have been the tournament's headline numbers. Zverev's lateral movement and left-handed slice return neutralise big serves — how Shelton adapts his patterns will govern in-play positions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is playing in the 2026 US Open women's final on September 12?
The 2026 US Open women's final is Elena Rybakina, the new WTA No. 1, against Aryna Sabalenka, the former No. 1.
The match takes place Saturday, September 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
What are the men's singles finalists in 2026?
Ben Shelton defeated Frances Tiafoe in four sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5) to advance.
He faces
Alexander Zverev in the men's final on Sunday, September 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET on ABC
.
What happened to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz?
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was beaten in the quarterfinals by Ben Shelton in a match that finished at 3:33 a.m. — the latest ending in US Open history.
Is Elena Rybakina now the world No. 1?
Yes.
Elena Rybakina clinched world No. 1 for the first time by reaching the semifinals, ending Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top.
The ranking change is confirmed regardless of Saturday's result.
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