Aryna Sabalenkova beat Taylor Townsend to emulate Serena in the US Open quarterfinals

Aryna Sabalenkova continued her remarkable dominance at the US Open by beating American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals for the sixth year in a row. With the win, Belarus became the first player since Serena Williams (2011-2016) to reach six consecutive women’s singles quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows.

The world number one, who is chasing a third consecutive US Open title, had to negotiate a spirited challenge from Townsend before eventually pulling away in straight sets. The victory extended Sabalenka’s tournament winning streak to 17 matches and further cemented her outstanding record in New York.

Sabalenkova has now won 23 of the last 24 matches at the US Open with her the only defeat in that stretch coming in the 2023 final against Coco Gauff. She also recorded her 44th win of the 2026 season, underscoring the remarkable consistency that has made her the player to beat in New York.

SABALENKA WINS THE BATTLE OF BREAKS

The opening set was an unusually chaotic affair, with the first five games seeing successive breaks of serve.

Sabalenka struck first, but Townsend immediately responded to level the score at 1-1. Belarus then breaks again, but Townsend hits one more time. Sabalenkova regained the advantage at 3-2 before finally holding serve for the first time to move to 4-2.

The top seed appeared to be taking control as another break gave her a 5-2 lead. But Townsend refused to give up, breaking and then holding serve to cut the deficit to 5-4.

Sabalenková held her nerve while serving for the set and created a forehand winner, which she sealed at 6:4 after 43 minutes.

SABALENKA IS ENOUGH IN THE SECOND SET

The second set initially followed a more conventional pattern, with both players holding serve in the opening two games. Townsend then made another surge and broke Sabalenka to move ahead 3-1.

The defending champion’s response was immediate. She earned a break back when Townsend double-faulted to level the set at 3-3.

From there, Sabalenka began to exercise her authority. Another break, helped by a backhand error from Townsend, moved her to 4-3. She continued to press and eventually clinched the match 6-3 with a backhand winner.

Sabalenková’s quarterfinal opponent will be the winner of the fourth-round matchup between eleventh-seeded Marta Kostyuk and sixth-seeded Linda Nosková. Both players made it to the last sixteen, with Nosková entering the competition as the higher-ranked player.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

06 Sep 2026 22:58 IST