Aryna Sabalenkas US Open three-peat hopes and historic tiebreak streak still alive

Czechia’s Linda Noskova was not to be underestimated, but Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a three-peat in Flushing is still on. The U.S.Open’s defending back-to-back champion and No.

1 seed survived a too-close-for-comfort quarterfinal clash with Noskova on Tuesday, emerging victorious from two tiebreaks to win 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (7) inside a partially sun-drenched Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I’m just super happy that I put myself in the position where I have a chance to go for a three-peat, even though I’m still far away from that,” Sabalenka said in her post-match news conference.“What I learned from [falling short of three in a row at the Australian Open in 2025] is it’s really important to shut down all of the noises. “Having that in the back of your mind, there’s nothing wrong about that, as long as you’re focusing on yourself.

As long as you’re ready to fight, basically.” Playing to her reputation as a tiebreak savant, Sabalenka has won 22 straight Grand Slam tiebreaks. The Belarusian surpassed Novak Djokovic’s mark of 19 to set an Open Era record in January. She is now the sixth player in the Open Era to reach at least six consecutive women’s singles semifinals in the U.S.Open, joining Chris Evert (16), Steffi Graf (7), Martina Hingis (6), Venus Williams (6) and Serena Williams (6). Only Hingis (12) has more consecutive hard-court Grand Slam semifinals in history than Sabalenka, who moved into a three-way tie with Graf and Evert at nine. This will also mark Sabalenka’s 15th career Grand Slam semifinal, all occurring within her past 18 appearances. Sabalenka will face the winner of the all-American clash between Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro. Tuesday afternoon was the first time Sabalenka was truly challenged since the start of the tournament. Sabalenka, who didn’t have a single match surpass an hour and a half until this point, looked primed for another easy day after jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the first set.

A three-g...