Sabalenka reaches sixth straight US Open

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the sixth year in a row. The World No. 1 and two-time defending champion will next face the winner of the match between 11th seed Marta Kostyuk and sixth seed Linda Noskova.

Sabalenka has not lost a match at Flushing Meadows since the 2023 final. This victory was her 44th of the 2026 season and her 38th at the US Open, more than any other player since her main draw debut in 2018. She now holds a 23-1 record in her last 24 matches in New York. The win also sends her into a 17th Grand Slam quarterfinal, leaving her three wins from becoming the first woman to win three consecutive US Open titles since Serena Williams achieved the feat from 2012 to 2014.

The result also has implications for the world rankings. Sabalenka must win the tournament to have any chance of retaining the No. 1 ranking she has held since October 21, 2024. That streak will reach 99 consecutive weeks by the end of this fortnight.

A serving struggle

The opening set was defined by a complete breakdown of serve from both players. Seven of the ten games went against the server. Sabalenka broke Townsend in a lengthy opening game that reached four deuces, only to be broken back immediately. This pattern repeated until Sabalenka finally held to 15 for a 4-2 lead. In total, she held serve just twice in five attempts, while Townsend managed only one hold in five. A key statistic revealed the problem: Sabalenka won just one of eight points behind her second serve, and Townsend won only one of nine.

Townsend, a left-hander ranked 96th in singles and second in doubles, broke early in the second set to put the top seed under pressure again. Sabalenka recovered the break and sealed the set 6-3. "I was just trying to stay focused on myself and play not only point by point but like ball by ball," Sabalenka said on court after the match. "I’m happy that I was able to turn around that second set."

Townsend's run ends

Taylor Townsend was competing for her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in her 35th main draw appearance, twelve years after losing to Serena Williams as a wildcard on her US Open debut. She had arrived in New York without a Grand Slam win all season after first-round exits in Melbourne, Paris, and London. Her run included victories over 20th seed Maja Chwalinska in the first round and 15th seed Diana Shnaider in the third.

The loss leaves Townsend with an 0-3 record against players who were World No. 1 at the time of their match. Her two previous defeats under those circumstances, against Serena Williams in 2014 and Simona Halep at Roland-Garros in 2018, were against opponents who went on to win the tournament.

Sabalenka praises opponent and crowd

Sabalenka's first remarks were full of praise for Townsend. "Oh my god, what an incredible player she is," she said. "Approaching the net, what a great returner, moving well, very brave. You can see how focused she was, and it was really challenging playing her."

She also thanked the New York crowd for their respect. "I gotta say thank you so much for being so respectful to me," Sabalenka stated. "Obviously you guys gonna be on her side, but I didn’t expect you being so respectful to me." Reflecting on the difficult match, she called it "a big test." She was broken three times in the first set alone but still managed to win in straight sets.

The other women's fourth-round matches scheduled for Sunday and Monday are listed below.