This queen is very much alive

Don't count her out just yet. No matter that she isn't playing her best tennis, that she's gone six months without winning a title, and that her crown as the queen of the WTA circuit hangs by a thread, Aryna Sabalenka has not yet said her last word. She came very close to losing the number one ranking and with it the title defense at the US Open against a very combative Linda Noskova. But the world number one is the world number one for a reason, and when her elimination seemed inevitable, she rose from her own mistakes and took a very close match to reach the semifinals of the New York major (7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7)) and awaits the winner of the match between Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro.

A closely contested match was expected from start to finish, and it turned out that way. The first quarter-final had the allure of pitting the reigning Wimbledon champion against the world number one. Both arrived with different dynamics, the Czech struggling in her last two matches, going to three sets against Ann Li and Marta Kostyuk, while the Belarusian had barely faced challenges in her first week in New York.

This is how the match between Sabalenka and Noskova unfolded in the US Open quarter-finals

And it seemed, from the start of the first set, that Sabalenka was going to have an easy afternoon on Arthur Ashe because she quickly established a 3-0 lead. The player from Minsk came out with all her firepower, and Noskova was unable to get into the match. However, she saved another break in the sixth game, and when it seemed the number one would close the first set, she came back from being down 5-2 to make it 5-5.

Sabalenka could hardly believe it because she was showing great form, with hardly any errors and plenty of composure. But instead of getting flustered, she accepted the Czech's increase in level, and it would be in the tiebreak where she would seal a very complete set (7-6(1)).

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The second set began more evenly, but the Belarusian had two break points in the first game that could have greatly eased her path to the semifinals. However, it was there that she disconnected, and Noskova made a comeback. Suddenly, the world number one became reckless, lost the order she had shown throughout the match, and began to make errors. The Wimbledon champion seized the opportunity and started playing more intelligently and tactically, continuing to unsettle a Sabalenka who went from having the match under control to fighting for a tiebreak in the third set (6-3).

The story repeated itself from the beginning of the first two sets; Sabalenka had break points to take the lead, and once again, she squandered them. And there it seemed that Sabalenka's chances to win her third US Open and stay at the top of the rankings were dwindling.

If she was already agitated and playing a tennis game without ideas and too aggressively, after missing these opportunities, the situation worsened, and Noskova, who continued to follow her game plan to the letter, with effective serves and great resilience from the baseline, broke her in a game that seemed decisive. In fact, judging by Sabalenka's expression, everything seemed lost, but after a scream that echoed throughout Flushing Meadows, she summoned the pride of a champion that made her rise from the canvas, neutralize the break, and turn from 2-4 to 4-4. There was still a lot of match left, and Sabalenka was back in the game.

HOLDING ON TO THE THRONE 👑

Aryna Sabalenka remains on course for a US Open three-peat, rallying from 2-4 down in the decider to defeat Noskova 7-6, 3-6, 7-6! pic.twitter.com/ifsSFaLQJU

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2026

Neither would back down, and the duel deserved a fitting ending, that is, in a super tiebreak to ten points. Everything was decided there, and that was where Sabalenka returned to her roots in the match; she calmed down, restored order, attacked when necessary, and defended as she should. And when the world number one exhibits her best tennis at the decisive moment, there's little the person on the other side of the net can do.

With an ace on her second serve, Aryna Sabalenka secured a significant victory (7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7)). Not only because it was against a great Linda Noskova or because it was a quarter-final at the US Open, but because she did not give up when everything seemed lost. For now, the queen is very much alive.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Esta reina está muy viva