Sabalenka holds off Noskova to keep US Open three-peat bid alive

What the report says

Aryna Sabalenka kept her bid for a third straight US Open women’s title alive on Tuesday with a hard-fought win over Linda Noskova at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Al Jazeera, reporting on an AFP dispatch, said the Belarusian two-time defending champion recovered from a difficult third set to defeat the 21-year-old Czech player 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 7-6 (10/7) and move into the semifinals.

The match was close throughout, with Noskova becoming the first player in the tournament to take a set off Sabalenka. Sabalenka was trailing 4-2 in the final set before breaking back and forcing a tiebreaker, where she edged through after both players traded powerful groundstrokes and serve pressure. The report said Sabalenka hit 42 winners, while Noskova finished with 18 aces and 46 winners overall.

The victory extended Sabalenka’s winning run at Flushing Meadows to 18 matches and gave her a sixth consecutive US Open semifinal appearance. It also kept alive her chances of retaining the world No. 1 ranking, which the article said she has held since October 2024. Her next opponent was to be determined by the quarterfinal between Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro.

More broadly, the result underscores Sabalenka’s status as the player to beat in women’s tennis, even after a season in which she had not added to her four major titles. The article also noted other quarterfinal action in the men’s draw, including Carlos Alcaraz against Ben Shelton.