The US Open women’s singles semifinals will be amazing. The four semifinalists are the four top-ranked players in the world. This semifinal sees New York crowd favorite Coco Gauff take on soon-to-be World No. 1 Elena Rybakina.
Here is my pick and prediction for the semifinal match between Gauff and Rybakina.
Coco Gauff vs. Elena Rybakina Prediction, Preview
Elena Rybakina Preview
It has been such a special year for Elena Rybakina. She started 2026 by winning her second career major at the Australian Open. She made the final at Indian Wells and in Canada, and also won the title at the Stuttgart Open. Rybakina has bypassed Aryna Sabalenka and will be the new World No. 1 at the end of this tournament, no matter the results this weekend. She will be the 30th woman to hit No. 1 in the world rankings since 1975. Sabalenka has held the No. 1 ranking for 99 weeks, but it is Rybakina’s time now. She might be the top-ranked player in the world, but she will need to play excellent tennis to beat Coco Gauff in her home major.
Coco Gauff Preview
Coco Gauff got through to the semifinals by the skin of her teeth. Gauff lost the first set to Wimbledon champion Mirra Andreeva, then went to a tiebreak in the second set. She managed to win that tiebreak and then took care of business in the third set. Gauff is now into her second consecutive major semifinal, having done the same at Wimbledon. Gauff won her first career major here in New York in 2023 and would love to get back to the mountaintop in front of the American fans once again. She has played great tennis this year and was in excellent form coming into this tournament. Gauff won the Cincinnati Open title before coming to New York, meaning she has now won 11 straight matches. However, this one against Rybakina could be her toughest matchup yet.
Coco Gauff vs. Elena Rybakina Pick, Best Bet
These should be spectacular semifinals. The women’s semifinals feature the top-four ranked players in the world. This is the first time the top four players have all made the semifinals at the US Open since 1975. The great Chris Evert, the World No. 1 at the time, won that US Open, defeating the 18-time major winner Martina Navratilova in the semifinals. These semifinals should live up to the same hype with these four excellent players.
My best bet is for this match to go over 2.5 sets. Despite being two of the best players in the world over the past few years, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina have only faced off twice before. They each won one of those matches, but both went to three sets. One of those matches came just a few weeks ago in Toronto, where Rybakina came back to beat Gauff after Gauff won the first set. Gauff is in excellent form and will have the American crowd at her back. However, Rybakina is a fierce opponent who will make it very tough for Gauff. This match should require three sets to determine who gets to the US Open final.
