US Open 2026: Aryna Sabalenka reaches fourth straight final, to face …

Star player Aryna Sabalenka showcased a brilliant performance against Jessica Pegula, which helped her to take a victory and unlock the fourth consecutive final of the US Open. ipl-cricket.in

The Belarusian star, who will lose her world No. 1 ranking to Elena Rybakina even if she wins the title, produced a dominant display in a 7-5, 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sabalenka has also beaten Pegula at the same venue during her US Open title runs in 2024 and 2025.

Sabalenka books US Open final spot, awaits Rybakina-Gauff winner

Sabalenka is aiming to become only the third woman after Chris Evert and Serena Williams to win three consecutive US Open titles. She hit 29 winners, including seven aces, and used her powerful groundstrokes to keep third-seeded Pegula under constant pressure.

However, now it’s time to see her rival in the finals of the US Open as the semifinal is scheduled between Rybakina and fourth-seeded Coco Gauff in Saturday’s title match.

After an impressive performance and a big victory, she reflected on it and said: “I’m super happy I was able to play such tennis.”

“I was so desperate to win. I wanted it so badly,” she added.

Sabalenka overcomes Pegula to reach US Open final

Sabalenka and Pegula both served well in a close first set. Sabalenka struggled to make a breakthrough on Pegula’s serve and became frustrated at times.

The turning point came when Pegula served at 5-6. She fell 0-40 down but saved one set point. However, Sabalenka won the next point with a strong return, and Pegula then hit a forehand into the net to give Sabalenka the first set.

Sabalenka continued her strong start in the second set. She put pressure on Pegula’s second serve and broke her to take a 3-1 lead after hitting a powerful forehand into the corner.

She ended the match with another break, hitting a strong forehand on match point.

The loss was another disappointment for Pegula against Sabalenka at a Grand Slam. She lost to the Belarusian in the 2024 US Open final and last year’s semi-final.

Sabalenka, 28, has not enjoyed the best results since winning titles at Indian Wells and Miami in March. Her recent form has given Elena Rybakina a chance to take the world No. 1 ranking, which Sabalenka has held since October 2024.

Rybakina beats Gauff to set up US Open final against Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka will face No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the final of the US Open 2026, after her brilliant performance against Coco Gauff in the semi-final. She lost the first round as her rival got an impressive start at the beginning of the match 3-0.

After the first-round setback, she backed her confidence and started showcasing her good gameplay in the match. She created trouble for her opponent in the match. With this dominant performance, she registered a victory in the second round 6-4.

She continued her dominance in the third round as well, with her attacking game-play in the final round. She put pressure on her rival, with impressive confidence. Her excellence and outstanding skills led her to a third round victory 6-4 to qualify for the finals of the tournament to face Aryna Sabalenka.

The Duleep Trophy 2026 was completed on Thursday. The final clash of the tournament was played between East Zone and South Zone, where Ishan Kishan’s side showcased a brilliant performance in the match and won the tournament, after a big gap of 13 years.

Ishan Kishan’s side and the captain himself delivered an exceptional performance in this match, which helped them to grab the big moment, after 13 years in the history of the tournament. After the match, East Zone captain, Ishan Kishan reflected on the great victory and expressed his emotions.

Ishan Kishan credits Team for Duleep Trophy win, opens up on India break

In the winning message, he dedicated the victory to his team. While applauding them, Ishan Kishan said: “As a group, we won this title as a group. I think everyone was taking care of each other, which was the most important thing for me. I think I’ve been a good leader (offers a cheeky smile), but yeah, I think the journey doesn’t end here.”

Ishan Kishan played a big role for the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026. He also revealed the break from the Indian team helped him to become calm and more focused.

“I think it was more about just being calmer after the break (the time when he was not selected for the Indian team), being more into the game, knowing what’s important, how aware you are towards the game and how you are reading the situation,” Ishan Kishan said.

Ishan Kishan’s heroics performance for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026

Speaking about his performance for the East Zone team in the Duleep Trophy 2026, Ishan Kishan finished the tournament as a leading run-scorer with 517 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.44. In this season, he smashed two centuries and two fifties.

In the final match against South Zone, he scored a massive double hundred in the first innings of the game. He scored 270 runs off 334 balls, including 30 fours and 7 sixes. Meanwhile, in the second innings, he showcased a brilliant batting performance, which helped him to play the best knock as the skipper of the side. Ishan Kishan smashed 80 runs off 98 balls. In his knock, he smashed 9 fours and 3 sixes.

Tanya Chaudhary has etched her name in history by setting a new national hammer throw record, achieving an impressive distance of 68.35m. This surpasses the former best of 67.02m set by Anushka Yadav during the Indian Athletics Series Final. Despite facing injuries and a tough qualification journey, she is now gearing up for the Asian Games in Japan, with an eye on hitting the coveted 70m mark in future events.

New York [US], September 11 (ANI): Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominance over Jessica Pegula at the US Open, defeating the American in straight sets to reach her fourth consecutive final in New York and keep her bid for a third successive title alive.

According to the WTA website, the top seed prevailed 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 20 minutes at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday (local time), extending her head-to-head advantage over Pegula to 10-4 on the WTA Tour.

It was also Sabalenka’s third consecutive victory over Pegula at the US Open, as the Belarusian delivered one of her most commanding performances of the season to book a title clash against Elena Rybakina.

“I was super desperate. I lost a tough match on grass against Jess, and I wasn’t really performing well in the middle part of the season," Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference, as per the WTA website.

She added, “It kind of feels like for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push for the season. I wanted badly to go to the final, and of course I want to go all the way. The mentality was just, ‘I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever it’s going to take to get the win.'"

The opening set was closely contested, with both players holding serve through the first 10 games and creating just one break-point opportunity each. The momentum shifted at 5-5 when Sabalenka held serve to move ahead before producing a powerful backhand to break Pegula and take the set 7-5.

Sabalenka took greater control in the second set. She converted her fourth break point with a forehand return winner off Pegula’s second serve to open up a 3-1 lead.

Pegula struggled behind her second serve, winning just five of 19 points, while Sabalenka remained largely untroubled on her own delivery, facing only one break point throughout the match. The top seed secured another break before closing out the contest 6-2.

“I think this season — especially at the beginning — I played a lot of incredible matches at a really high level," Sabalenka said.

“But today I really performed well. I felt like whatever decision I would make, it was the right decision. So I would definitely say that against Jess today, compared to the last matches we played, it was definitely a better level from me," she added.

Pegula, meanwhile, credited Sabalenka for producing an exceptional performance despite her straight-sets defeat.

“That’s definitely — you can ask her — the best match she’s played this year. I thought her level was insanely high," Pegula said, as per the WTA website.

“Maybe she felt a little bit off at the beginning, but I feel like we were both playing well, serving well. I don’t know who pissed her off today… hopefully it wasn’t me totally, but it might’ve been. I don’t know. She played insane. She played at a super high level. Honestly, I don’t really know if there was much I could do today," Pegula added.

The victory also saw Sabalenka create history. She became the first player in the Open Era to reach eight consecutive Grand Slam hard-court finals, surpassing the previous mark of seven shared by Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Novak Djokovic.

Sabalenka is also only the sixth woman in the Open Era to reach at least four consecutive US Open singles finals, joining Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Graf and Serena Williams.

The final will be Sabalenka’s ninth Grand Slam title match overall, where she will face newly crowned World No. 1 Rybakina. The pair have previously met twice in Major finals, with Sabalenka winning the 2023 Australian Open final before losing to the Kazakh in a three-set Melbourne final earlier this year.

Rybakina reached her maiden US Open final after fighting back from a set down to defeat Coco Gauff in their semifinal. Sabalenka and Rybakina will now battle for the 2026 US Open women’s singles title at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Munich [Germany], September 11 (ANI): Bayern Munich began their pursuit of a seventh European crown in emphatic fashion, thrashing Bodo/Glimt 5-0 in their opening UEFA Champions League match to extend their remarkable winning run in season openers to 24 consecutive campaigns.

Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane, Alphonso Davies and Michael Olise were on the scoresheet as Vincent Kompany’s side maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant display, according to the UEFA Champions League website.

Bayern controlled the contest from the opening stages but were initially frustrated by Bodo goalkeeper Nikita Khaikin, who produced a series of impressive saves to keep the Norwegian side in the game.

Khaikin denied Luis Diaz early on, turning the winger’s glancing header over the crossbar before getting down well to keep out Kane’s curling effort. Joshua Kimmich then struck the post from distance as Bayern continued to pile on the pressure.

Musiala also tested Khaikin with a low effort after creating space on the edge of the box, while the Bayern captain was again denied when his volley was gathered by the visiting goalkeeper.

Bodo had few opportunities of their own, with their best chance in the opening period coming when a mishit Dayot Upamecano backpass slipped past Manuel Neuer and rolled narrowly wide.

Bayern’s dominance finally produced a breakthrough shortly after the interval, although Khaikin was no longer there to prevent it. The goalkeeper had picked up an injury while making his final save of the first half and was replaced by Julian Faye Lund at the break.

Just 77 seconds into the second half, Musiala opened the scoring. Kane’s effort from the edge of the area was blocked into the path of the Germany international, who calmly fired across Lund and into the net.

Kane doubled Bayern’s advantage before the hour mark, finally getting his name on the scoresheet in Europe this season. The England captain rose to meet Olise’s free-kick and powered his header beyond Lund.

Bodo briefly threatened to pull one back when Andreas Helmersen dispossessed Kimmich and noticed Neuer away from his goal, but his ambitious attempt from around 45 yards sailed just over the crossbar.

The visitors then survived several further scares as Ismael Saibari and Musiala came close to extending Bayern’s lead, but the third goal arrived in the 77th minute.

A Bodo corner clearance fell to Davies around 20 yards from goal, and the Canada international unleashed a powerful strike through a crowded penalty area and into the net.

Olise then added a fourth with a superb individual finish. The Frenchman found space before curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to cap another impressive attacking display.

Bodo’s misery deepened when Odin Bjørtuft was shown a red card for bringing down Olise just outside the penalty area.

With the visitors reduced to 10 men, Bayern took full advantage in stoppage time. Olise surged through the weakened defence before firing his second of the night to complete the rout.

The victory extended Bayern’s unbeaten run in all competitions this season and gave them an ideal start to their Champions League campaign.

For Bodo/Glimt, the defeat continued their struggles away from home in the competition, as they remain without an away clean sheet in the Champions League.

The Norwegian side had also scored at least twice in 12 of their previous 13 European outings, but Bayern’s defence kept them scoreless in a one-sided contest. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)