China's Zheng beaten by Rybakina in US Open quarterfinals

Elena Rybakina (L) greets Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles quarterfinal between Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Zheng Qinwen of China at the 2026 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Sept. 9, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan came from a set down to defeat China's Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday and advance to the US Open semifinals for the first time.

Both players held serve through the first seven games of the opening set. Zheng earned the first break point of the match in the eighth game. Rybakina saved it but netted her next return, handing Zheng the break. Serving for the set, Zheng fended off five break points to close it out 6-3.

Zheng's level dropped in the second set as Rybakina broke twice and rolled to a 6-1 win. In the deciding set, Rybakina broke Zheng in the ninth game and closed out the match 6-4.

"I didn't take chances on the key points, and that's on me," Zheng said. "Both my opponent and I played very well, and I learned a lot from the match."

Rybakina, who will rise to world No. 1 on Monday, said the ranking is secondary.

"It's just a number right now," she said. "My goal is to win any tournament I play. I'll go one match at a time and it's an amazing achievement. We know anything can change so quickly in tennis, a ranking, or during a match, so I need to focus on my tennis, recover and enjoy tomorrow."

Rybakina will face home player Coco Gauff after the fourth seed also rallied past fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.