Queens crowns Zverev and Rybakina.

Ben Shelton bought himself a fourth set. Aryna Sabalenka forced a third. Neither could carry that opening through to a US Open title. Alexander Zverev and Elena Rybakina answered the pressure in Queens by winning their final sets 6–2, each leaving New York with a second major championship of 2026.

Zverev's serve supplies the answer

Zverev defeated Ben Shelton 6–3, 7–6 (2), 5–7, 6–2 on September 13. The USTA's match report identifies the serve as a central advantage: Zverev won 68 of 80 points behind his first delivery, an 85 percent success rate.

The break came immediately in the fourth set. Zverev then lost only four points on serve for the rest of that set, giving Shelton little room to build on the one he had just won. The American had extended his first Grand Slam final; the next few games put the match firmly back with Zverev.

Shelton was playing his first Grand Slam final. Zverev added New York to his Roland Garros win. Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open remains the last major singles title won by an American man.

Rybakina ends Sabalenka's run

Rybakina's September 12 victory came against a player pursuing a third consecutive US Open title. She beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6–4, 5–7, 6–2; the tournament records it as Rybakina's third career major and second this season.

Sabalenka had kept the final alive by taking the second set 7–5. Rybakina's response left much less suspense at the finish: six of the next eight games, then an ace to close it, according to the USTA's coverage. The bid for three straight New York titles ended against a player collecting her own second major of the year.

Those closing sets are worth revisiting in the official video coverage linked below. In both matches, the eventual runner-up had just created a chance to turn the final. The champions made that chance brief. The scores describe a pair of firm finishes, earned after the match had become harder rather than before it.