US Open: Rybakina advances as Gauff books fifth straight third round

Elena Rybakina advanced to the US Open third round, moving closer to the world No. 1 ranking. Defending hopes continue for Coco Gauff, who also advanced, while both players face tough opponents in the next round

New York: Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina moved a step closer to becoming the world’s No. 1 player for the first time with a straight-sets victory over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to reach the third round of the US Open.

Despite failing to serve out the match at 5-3 in the second set—her first lost service game of the tournament—Rybakina recovered to clinch victory with her fourth break in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

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Rybakina, whose best US Open result was a fourth-round run last season, will next face Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in a rematch of their second-round thriller at the French Open, which Starodubtseva won.

The 27-year-old, who won her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, is now three wins away from claiming the No. 1 ranking. She needs to reach the semifinals in New York to guarantee herself the top spot at the end of the tournament.

Earlier, the 2023 US Open champion booked her fifth consecutive third round in New York with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over the Spaniard, who had won their last two meetings in the WTA.

Gauff finished the two-hour affair with 21 winners and 21 unforced errors. She was broken only once in her 6-3, 6-4 first-round victory over Zeynep Sonmez and just twice against Badosa, and while she served a middling 50 percent for the match, she won 71 percent of her first-serve points and an impressive 57 percent of her second-serve offerings.

This victory is a big boost of confidence for Gauff, one of the pre-tournament favourites, who has an eye on adding the 2026 US Open title to her 2023 US Open crown and 2025 French Open championship.

In the third round, Gauff will face another Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, who prevailed 7-6 (6), 6-7 (0), 7-6 (10-6) en route to her fourth career third round at a Grand Slam, following the 2023 Australian Open, 2025 Roland Garros and 2025 US Open.