Elena Rybakina fought back from a set down to beat American fourth seed Coco Gauff and reach the US Open final, where she will face top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in a meeting of the tournament's two highest seeds. The match carries extra significance as Rybakina is already guaranteed to replace Sabalenka as world number one when rankings update on Monday, meaning Saturday's final doubles as a battle over the top ranking as well as the title. It is the first time the women's top two seeds have met in a US Open final since 2013, when Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka.

Sabalenka reached the final by overpowering home favourite Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2, extending her unbeaten New York run since losing the 2023 final to Gauff and setting an Open era record of eight consecutive hard-court Grand Slam finals. She is bidding to become only the third woman in the Open era to win three straight US Open titles, despite a shaky lead-up that included a quarter-final exit at Roland Garros and a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon. Rybakina, who beat Sabalenka in this year's Australian Open final and previously won Wimbledon in 2022, overcame Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 to reach her first US Open final, having never previously gone beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.