Zverev, Rybakina top US Open winners, while influencers leave as losers - USA Today
NEW YORK — All good things must come to an end, and during the three-week festival known as the US Open, there were some good things and not-so-good things about the goings-on at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Still, it was an enjoyable time, with a number of incredible matches plus the festivities and the food surrounding the year’s final Grand Slam.
The questions that were asked at the midweek point have been answered: “Can Aryna Sabalenka complete a three-peat that hasn't been seen at this tournament since Serena Williams was running roughshod through the field a decade ago?” That answer is no.
And “can one of the American men break through and get that coveted first Grand Slam?” That answer is an emphatic no as well, as Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton in four sets to take his second Grand Slam title this year.
The American men's Grand Slam drought extends at least another five months until the 2027 Australian Open gets underway in January.
The 27-year-old and now three-time Grand Slam champion solidified her ranking as the new No. 1 player in the world by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open women's final. Rybakina’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory capped a great major tournament season, as she also won the Australian Open and got a little bit of revenge after Sabalenka beat her at Indian Wells and Miami. Rybakina was gracious in victory and even let a little girl at a lemonade stand hold her championship trophy, while Sabalenka, who spent 99 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked player, went on to smash her poor rackets to oblivion, as she certainly has a right to do after her defeat.
The 28-year-old German and top seed had a rough go of it at the beginning of the tournament, being taken to five sets in the first two rounds. But he poured it on, losing only one set, after that – in the final against Ben Shelton – to take home his first US Open title. Zverev had a comical moment at the end and didn't realize he had won the match until he looked over and saw the great response from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. Zverev will collect $5.5 million for his seven-match run through Flushing Meadows.
Players have to know that setting foot on this iconic venue is not only a privilege but also, at the 2026 US Open, a sign that they will likely go the distance in their matches. That happened during the quarterfinals on Sept. 8, when all four matches at the world’s largest tennis venue went the maximum number of sets. There were three match tiebreaks, and the four matches combined for 13 hours and 47 minutes, including the epic five-set match between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz, which lasted four hours and 28 minutes and ended at 3:33 a.m. ET – the latest finish in US Open history. The schedule that led to this epic day has been addressed ad nauseam, but the tennis action was fantastic, nonetheless.
The US Open has the highest prize money of the four Grand Slams, and this year the singles champions collected $5.5 million, up from $5 million last year. Just making the tournament with a main card entry provides a nice little bump in pay, now $140,000, which is especially nice for those lower-ranked players and teenagers who make the field.
Just like in the first week’s roundup of winners and losers, the influencers aren’t getting off that easily. They, and by and large the crowds, especially at Arthur Ashe Stadium, have shown no sense of etiquette or decency and must be warned to either shut up or stop using flash photography so the players on the court can start a serve. Most aren't here to watch great tennis; they're here to shill for social media clicks and likes, and to influence whatever it is they are trying to influence.
Receiving a wild card to compete in the main draw remains the toughest way to make it through a Grand Slam tournament, and winning it all could be the best story in sports. But any tournament will make sure wild cards, qualifiers and lucky losers have a near impossible chance of winning it, as they should. The last wild card entrant to win the US Open was Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters in 2009, who was dominant, dropping only two sets on her way to the title.
This year, in the main draw, no men advanced past the third round, and no female player advanced past the second round. The only consolation came in the women’s doubles tournament, where Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery reached the final before being beaten by Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend, who completed the career Grand Slam as a team with their three-set victory.
