Rybakina Wins US Open as India Celebrates Women’s Asia Cup and Junior Hockey Titles
Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka to become the new women’s world No. 1, while India beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup final, defeated Afghanistan in the first T20I and completed a men’s-and-women’s Junior Asia Cup hockey double.
Elena Rybakina’s US Open victory alongside India’s Women’s Asia Cup cricket triumph and men’s and women’s Junior Asia Cup hockey titles
Table of Contents (15 sections)
It was a title-heavy weekend across international sport, with Elena Rybakina completing a major breakthrough in New York while Indian teams collected trophies in cricket and junior hockey.
Rybakina defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in Saturday’s US Open women’s singles final, securing her first title at Flushing Meadows and the third Grand Slam singles championship of her career.
The result also confirmed a change at the top of women’s tennis. Rybakina will replace Sabalenka as world No. 1, ending the Belarusian’s 99-week reign at the summit of the rankings.
For Indian sport, Sunday produced several major results of its own.
India defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final in Dubai, reclaiming the continental title after losing the 2024 final to the same opponents. Shafali Verma provided the early momentum with a record-breaking innings before India’s bowlers took control.
Hours later, India also completed a remarkable double at the Junior Asia Cup hockey tournaments in Moqi, China, winning both the men’s and women’s titles.
And in New Delhi, the Indian men’s cricket team began its three-match T20I series against Afghanistan with a seven-wicket victory, powered by Abhishek Sharma’s 32-ball 82.
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Key Takeaways
Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to win her first US Open and third Grand Slam singles title.
The Kazakhstan player will replace Sabalenka as women’s world No. 1, ending the Belarusian’s 99-week run at the top.
India beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Dubai to win the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup, with Shafali Verma scoring 68 from 39 balls and setting a tournament record for the fastest fifty.
India’s men beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in the first T20I in New Delhi after Abhishek Sharma struck 82 from 32 balls.
India completed a Junior Asia Cup hockey double in China: the women defeated China 1-0, while the men beat South Korea 4-1.
Rybakina Finally Conquers New York
Rybakina entered the US Open final with more than one milestone within reach.
She had already done enough during the tournament to ensure she would move to No. 1 in the rankings. The remaining challenge was defeating Sabalenka, who had won the previous two US Open titles and carried a long winning streak at Flushing Meadows into the final.
Rybakina took the opening set 6-4 before Sabalenka responded 7-5 in the second.
The deciding set was much less balanced.
Rybakina broke clear and closed out the championship 6-2, completing a victory that gave her a first US Open crown. The official tournament bracket confirms the three-set result.
Her path to the title also included a three-set semifinal victory over Coco Gauff, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, after wins over Qinwen Zheng and Naomi Osaka in the preceding rounds.
Third Grand Slam for Rybakina
The New York victory takes Rybakina’s Grand Slam singles total to three.
It is also her second major title of 2026. She began the season by defeating Sabalenka in the Australian Open final.
The US Open therefore completes an exceptional hard-court major double.
Rybakina’s previous major success came at Wimbledon, giving her titles at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
The French Open is now the only major missing from her career collection.
That does not guarantee a future career Grand Slam, but it places her within one title of achieving it.
Sabalenka’s US Open Run Ends
The defeat ended an extraordinary period of dominance in New York for Sabalenka.
She had won the US Open in each of the previous two years and entered Saturday’s final seeking a third consecutive championship.
Rybakina stopped that run and also ended Sabalenka’s long spell as world No. 1.
The result does not diminish Sabalenka’s position among the leading players in women’s tennis, but it changes the immediate competitive landscape.
Rybakina now has both the US Open trophy and the No. 1 ranking.
India Reclaims Women’s Asia Cup
In Dubai, India produced another title-winning performance.
India scored 183 for five against Sri Lanka before dismissing the defending champions for 111, winning the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final by 72 runs.
The result restored India to the top of Asian women’s cricket after Sri Lanka had defeated them by eight wickets in the 2024 final. Before Sunday, India had won seven Women’s Asia Cup titles.
The latest victory therefore gives India an eighth Women’s Asia Cup title.
It was also a convincing reversal of the previous final.
India’s batting established a competitive target before the bowling attack prevented Sri Lanka from mounting a sustained chase.
Shafali Verma Breaks Asia Cup Record
Shafali Verma provided the defining batting performance.
The Indian opener made 68 from 39 balls and reached her half-century in only 24 deliveries.
That was the fastest fifty in Women’s T20 Asia Cup history.
The previous record belonged to Shafali’s opening partner Smriti Mandhana, who had reached fifty from 25 balls against Sri Lanka in 2022.
Shafali and Mandhana gave India the start needed to put pressure on Sri Lanka before the middle order completed a total of 183 for five.
Mandhana contributed 59 from 39 balls, giving India two half-centurions at the top of the order.
Shafali’s performance was particularly important because it combined speed with enough time at the crease to establish the innings rather than providing only a short burst.
Sree Charani Leads India’s Bowling Response
Sri Lanka needed a strong start to make 184 achievable.
Instead, India steadily removed the batting side’s options.
Left-arm spinner Sree Charani took four wickets, emerging as the leading performer in an Indian bowling attack that dismissed Sri Lanka for 111.
Deepti Sharma, who entered the final as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, also made another important contribution.
The 72-run margin reflects how comprehensively India controlled the second half of the final.
Sri Lanka had arrived as defending champions and one of the tournament’s strongest teams, making the size of the final margin particularly significant.
India Starts Afghanistan Series With Seven-Wicket Win
The senior Indian men were also in action on Sunday, beginning a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
India won the opening match by seven wickets.
After choosing to bowl first, India restricted Afghanistan to 156 from 20 overs.
Afghanistan had fallen to 43 for five before Azmatullah Omarzai stabilised the innings with an unbeaten 64, supported by Mohammad Nabi’s 33.
Arshdeep Singh took three wickets for India.
The chase then moved quickly.
Abhishek Sharma struck 82 from just 32 deliveries, while Ishan Kishan contributed 42.
India reached the target in only 13.4 overs, finishing three wickets down and taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
The remaining matches will determine whether Afghanistan can respond after being comprehensively outpaced in the opener.
Indian Junior Women Make It Three Straight Asian Titles
Indian hockey produced another major result in Moqi, China.
The junior women defeated hosts China 1-0 in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup final to claim their third consecutive continental championship.
Sanika Chandrakant Mane scored the decisive goal in the 17th minute.
From there, India protected the advantage against the host nation, with coach Tim White later highlighting his team’s defensive discipline.
The result completed an impressive tournament.
India had reached the final by beating South Korea 5-1 in the semifinal, with Supriya scoring a hat-trick. Before that, the team recorded a 19-0 quarterfinal victory over Pakistan.
India entered the competition as winner of the previous two editions, making Sunday’s victory a hat-trick of Women’s Junior Asia Cup titles.
Junior Men Complete India’s Hockey Double
The celebrations continued when India’s junior men defeated South Korea 4-1 in their final.
The victory delivered India another Junior Asia Cup title and completed a same-day double for the country in Moqi.
India’s men also secured qualification for the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup through their tournament performance.
The men entered the tournament as defending champions and had beaten Malaysia 3-1 in the semifinal. Hockey India’s official tournament information also records the competition running in Moqi from September 4 to 13.
Taken together, the two titles give Indian junior hockey an unusually strong continental result: both national teams finishing the same tournament cycle as Asian champions.
A Significant Weekend Across Indian Sport
The results came from different sports and should not be treated as one competitive achievement, but their timing made Sunday particularly notable.
The senior women’s cricket team reclaimed the Asia Cup.
The men’s cricket team opened a bilateral T20I series with a convincing victory.
And India’s junior men’s and women’s hockey teams both finished their continental tournaments as champions.
There is also a useful distinction between the cricket and hockey events.
The Women’s T20 Asia Cup in Dubai involved senior international teams.
The hockey titles in Moqi were junior continental championships.
Keeping those classifications clear avoids overstating what the hockey results represent while still recognising their importance for India’s development pipeline.
Rybakina’s Victory Reshapes Women’s Tennis
Globally, Rybakina’s US Open triumph may have the longest immediate impact of the weekend’s results.
A Grand Slam title is significant on its own.
Combining it with a rise to No. 1 changes the hierarchy at the top of women’s tennis.
Rybakina has now defeated Sabalenka in the finals of both hard-court Grand Slams in 2026.
Sabalenka remains one of the sport’s strongest major contenders, while players including Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva and others continue to make the top of the women’s game highly competitive.
But the rankings now have a new leader.
Rybakina’s season has moved her from being one member of that leading group to holding the sport’s No. 1 position.
What Happens Next
Rybakina will formally take over the No. 1 ranking following her US Open success.
For Indian women’s cricket, attention moves beyond a successful Asia Cup campaign toward the team’s next international assignments after reclaiming the continental championship.
The Indian men, meanwhile, still have two matches remaining in their T20I series against Afghanistan after taking a 1-0 lead.
In hockey, the junior teams leave China as champions and with qualification for their respective Junior World Cups secured.
For India, that makes September 13 a particularly productive day across cricket and hockey.
For international tennis, the defining result came a day earlier in New York: Rybakina is a US Open champion for the first time and the new player at the top of the women’s game.
Bottom Line
Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to win her first US Open, third major title and the world No. 1 ranking.
India defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs to reclaim the Women’s Asia Cup, with Shafali Verma scoring 68 (39) and setting a tournament-record 24-ball fifty.
India’s junior women beat China 1-0 and the junior men defeated South Korea 4-1 to complete a Junior Asia Cup hockey double.
The Indian men opened their T20I series against Afghanistan with a seven-wicket win, powered by Abhishek Sharma’s 82 off 32 balls.
Key Takeaway
Elena Rybakina is the new US Open champion and women’s world No. 1.
India reclaimed the Women’s Asia Cup with a dominant 72-run win over Sri Lanka.
India’s junior hockey teams completed a men’s-and-women’s continental double in China.
The Indian men began their Afghanistan T20I series with a comprehensive victory.
A title-filled weekend across tennis, cricket and hockey.
The Rajatheertha Team publishes news, explainers, guides and updates across India and the world. Our coverage follows Rajatheertha's editorial, verification and corrections standards.
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