Sports · 08 September, 2026 · 2 min read
Elena Rybakina Overpowers Naomi Osaka, Sets Up US Open Quarterfinal vs Zheng Qinwen
Rybakina defeated Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 to reach the US Open quarterfinals. A win in the next round would make Rybakina world No. 1.
Zheng’s comeback framed as luck vs as concentration/rhythm.
11 of 13 outlets skipped it: rybakina is guaranteed No. 1 if she reaches the semifinals.
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Same story, two versions
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AP News
““I guess I want to approach the same way, try to do everything I can, fight until the end my next match and let’s see what’s going to happen.”Read the original ↗
ESPN
““At 4-5 I went to the towel, because I thought it was 3-5, and I thought I need to play one more game.”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗One outlet stresses a goal-driven approach, another highlights match-in-the-moment thinking.
Rybakina vs Osaka
Elena Rybakina overpowered Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open, winning 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals and set up a match against Zheng Qinwen with a chance to become No. 1.
“Rybakina advanced to the quarterfinals Monday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Osaka”
Rybakina, the No. 2-seeded player, is guaranteed to replace Aryna Sabalenka atop the WTA rankings if she reaches the semifinals in Flushing Meadows, and she said, “Of course I want it, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t wish this, but definitely that’s one of my goals.”
Zheng Qinwen also advanced to the quarterfinals after winning a set from 5-0 down again to stun Iga Swiatek, and she told the BBC, “The more matches I play, the more rhythm I have on court.”
The BBC said Zheng’s win came after she extended her run by beating Swiatek to set up a quarter-final against Rybakina, who “sped past former champion Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4.”
Zheng stuns Swiatek
Zheng Qinwen reached the quarterfinals by beating Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 after being down 5-0 in the opening set, and the BBC described it as her second straight match winning a set from 5-0 down.
The BBC reported that Zheng, the reigning Olympic champion, had dropped outside the world’s top 100 earlier this year after struggling to regain her best form following elbow surgery in July 2025.
Swiatek said she “started making mistakes from easy balls” and that “Qinwen stopped doing mistakes,” adding, “She played the balls better.”
In a separate account, ESPN said Zheng “clawed her way back in the first set, winning game after game” after trailing 5-0, and it noted that the match ended with Zheng taking the early lead and then winning the final four games in the second set to secure the 7-5, 6-3 victory.E
Quarterfinal implications
With Rybakina’s quarterfinal berth secured after beating Osaka, the AP reported she is “one win away from the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis,” and it framed her next match as a test against Zheng Qinwen.
“Rybakina overpowered Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open and is a win away from the No. 1 ranking”
The BBC said Zheng’s latest win in New York was her seventh in a row, coming “through three rounds of qualifying,” and it described her as setting up a quarter-final against second seed Elena Rybakina.
In the same tournament draw, the AP reported that Zheng’s quarterfinal opponent will be determined by Rybakina’s match with Osaka, while it also said the No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva will face the No. 4 seed Coco Gauff after Andreeva recovered to beat Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
The BBC added that Swiatek’s loss meant a fourth-round exit for her at the U.S. Open, and it said it was “for the first time since 2021” that Swiatek would end a year without winning one of the sport’s four majors.