Defending champ Sabalenka storms past Rakhimova at US Open

Top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the 2026 US Open at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, advancing to the fourth round for the fifth consecutive year.

New York:  Top seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka ousted Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-3, 6-4, in a women’s singles third-round match in the 2026 US Open at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on Friday.

Playing under a sizzling sun dressed in an equally sizzling orange kit, No. 1 seed Sabalenka solved the problems posed by the tricky Rakhimova, ranked 92nd in the WTA Rankings, to storm into the fourth round at the US Open for the fifth year in a row.

---

Coming into the opening match of Day 6, Sabalenka had yet to be truly tested. She lost just eight games total across her first two matches, logging an efficient two hours and 35 minutes on court.

Sabalenka started the match on a strong note, going up an early break to earn a 2-1 edge.

For her part, Rakhimova, the 25-year-old from Uzbekistan, seemed to struggle against the top seed’s power. Down 5-3, she pulled off a gutsy service game, displaying both counterpunching skills and real variety to her shotmaking on her way to winning it.

But Sabalenka managed to continue her serving dominance, closing out the first set in 35 minutes, 6-3. To get there, she racked up four aces on the set (to zero double faults), won 81% of the points behind her first serve and never faced a break point.

Sabalenka has beaten Rakhimova in their three prior meetings, twice in straight sets at the French Open, in 2023 and 2025. On the hard courts of Washington, D.C. in 2024, Rakhimova pushed Sabalenka to three sets before falling to the No. 1 seed.

But Rakhimova proved that she can pull off an upset in the first round at this US Open, ousting two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova, seeded No. 27, in straight sets.

Sabalenka will next face the winner of the third-round match between American Taylor Townsend and No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider.