US OPEN

September 7, 2026

Elena Rybakina

Press Conference

E. RYBAKINA/N. Osaka

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Convincing two-set win. Barely over an hour. Your thoughts?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, played really good. I mean, everything was going my way. Catch some lines, was playing really deep. Yeah, I'm happy, as I said, a lot of things worked today for me.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Just today obviously the level was really high, and I think it's been pretty high throughout the whole tournament. Just curious, coming off the injury scare off of Cincinnati, how pleased were you with the preparation and building off of that this far into the tournament?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Preparation wasn't that great. Of course, I was not playing for seven days, and I couldn't do much in the gym movement-wise, so we had to really go day by day.

It's an amazing progress. I'm really glad how everything worked out. As I said before, we didn't even know if I'm going to be able to play or not. Yeah, I have a great team. Also, good doctor on the phone all the time. So, yeah, I'm very happy how everything went.

For now, I've been playing, can't say that all the matches were amazing, but of course, today one of the best matches I played.

Q. Your next match against Zheng, her last two matches she's come back from 5-Love and then coming through qualifying. What do you think of what she's done so far here?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I didn't watch yet all her matches. Well, she definitely found her form, and I feel like she's playing now with a lot of confidence after so many wins in a row, so she's very dangerous.

We played before, so I know that it's going to be very difficult match. Of course, I will focus on myself, try to serve well. I think today it really helped me a lot. If I can serve the same way next match, it's going to be great.

So, yeah, another difficult match. As I said, she has been playing really well, especially coming back in these difficult matches.

Q. I think today's match, your forehand or your first serve were the key factor today's match. How would you reflect on that match?

ELENA RYBAKINA: The speed you think was the key?

Q. Yeah, of first serve and forehand.

ELENA RYBAKINA: I would say that, of course, speed is important, but more important is placement. I feel like today it was good for my side, both in speed and placement.

Knowing that she's also a very aggressive player and she can serve well, I felt like I need to really focus on my serve. A lot of points when she was serving, I was playing it as it the last one. So I was really focus from beginning until the end.

Yeah, as I said, many things worked for me today.

Q. You had a couple of match points when Naomi was serving, you know, the previous game, two match points. When you couldn't make it, what was your mindset? Did you feel like, Oh, I missed it, or did you think that, Oh, it doesn't matter because I'm serving and maybe I cannot take it like that?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I forgot. It was, I think, couple of match points. I remember one where I missed the forehand. This is where, of course, it was a busy mistake, and I was just listening. The box, of course, they were telling me just to keep on going, and same to myself.

I was serving really well the whole match, so I was thinking that now it's a new ball, and I just need to go for it and not to wait for the mistake, because she also was, as I said, a very aggressive player, and she can return well, and then everything can change quickly.

So I was, yeah, just going for my serves, and with the new balls it works well.

Q. You're wearing a cap from the New York Yankees. What story is there, if any, behind that cap choice? What do you consider to be your relationship with New York and its fans?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I think you asked me about the cap last time, also. I can't say that I'm following a lot basketball, but I definitely watch sometimes. It's just a hat. For me it's just a hat, which I like. So nothing very special about it (laughing).

Q. How about your relationship with New York, especially as you advance in this tournament?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, now it's getting better and better, because before, I would say US Open, the tournament, I usually don't perform that well. Now I feel like this year it's the best for now out of all the years I played here.

I would say that I like New York, and it's an amazing city. For me, maybe just for two, three weeks, because after, it might be too much. I really love the crowd here.

Yeah, I enjoy playing on the stadiums like this.

Q. I want to talk about your forehand. I thought maybe in the tournaments before the US Open a lot of -- I mean, the errors that you make with the forehand were all sailing, most of them were sailing long, which is quite unusual for you. Maybe it was a lack of conviction, I don't know, but today your forehand was on point. I mean, long and drive and with the right amount of spin. Is that all about belief, about conviction? Would you say, Now I'm back with 100% belief that I can play them like I would like to?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I would say it's a belief and also work, which we put before. Of course, before this tournament I wasn't practicing as much, but we did a good preparation coming just coming to the U.S. swing. We've been talking a lot on what I need to improve.

Even not being able to stay on the court many hours before the tournament started, we were still discussing what I should do better, where we can improve. I feel like through the talks, through the kind of repetitions, some swings here and there, you can catch the moment.

That's what happened today, and hopefully I can carry it on for the next one.

Q. You're very close to achieving the No. 1 ranking. I'm curious what that would mean to you, and also, how much of a factor was that, even in your decision to play the tournament?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I never want to miss the tournaments. No matter where I go, I want to win, of course.

I think day by day that I'm having good progress with my foot. I straight away said that I'm going to try and play, so it was no doubt about this.

No. 1 ranking is, of course, one of the goals. But I think the main focus for me, for the team, is to win the titles, and then the ranking will follow up.

We go match by match, but obviously, we want to win the titles, the tournaments. So that's, I would say, main goal.

Q. I'm curious, obviously coming into a slam, everyone wants to have the best preparation and train every day leading up to it. I'm curious, what do you think it says about you that you missed a whole week, it's not ideal, but you're still playing at such a high level from the start?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Yeah, it was not ideal, and I was stressed, of course, during the week of not practicing, first days when I came onsite when we had to test the foot and everything, so it wasn't easy.

But, as I said, I have a good team, and they were convinced of what we got to do and how to make the steps towards playing. It wasn't easy, but I'm very glad that I'm able to play here.

I'm in the quarters, so it's already an amazing achievement. Yeah, we just keep on going day by day and hopefully can stay here until the very end.

Q. (Off microphone) -- play good tennis in all conditions?

ELENA RYBAKINA: I was playing really well, I can say, in Toronto and even Cincinnati. In Toronto it was a lot of three-set matches, which also I think was tough. But at the same time, it build the confidence that you can win these difficult matches.

I was playing overall really well, so in my mind I was trying to focusing about these matches so I can come back here and first practices try to replicate what I was doing there good.

Yeah, it's just, as I said, through talking, through trying to improve, even not being able to hit the balls, we still managed to do a very good job, so I'm very glad.

Q. Your play was excellent. On the other hand, compared with last matchup with Naomi at tournament, how do you think her conditions were changed?

ELENA RYBAKINA: About the previous match with Naomi?

Q. Comparing...

ELENA RYBAKINA: I feel like we both played really well in Toronto, also. It was very close match.

Here I think that I started a little bit better. It was a moment where, as I said, I was a bit lucky. It was very deep balls, catching the lines. Just many things really worked out for me today.

Plus, it was the first match we played against each other in Toronto, so coming to this one, I kind of knew what to expect, what kind of ball is going to come, how she serves.

Yes, it was different, but again, everything work out for me well today.