By Gus "Walk-Off" Fields
Elena Rybakina came into the US Open unable to walk without pain, nursing a foot injury that put her participation in doubt. She left New York with a trophy, a first Grand Slam title on American hard courts, and the world No. 1 ranking — a turnaround so steep even the players chasing her struggled to describe it.
Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final to complete the run, denying the Belarusian a title she badly wanted and adding to a rough stretch that has already cost Sabalenka her own grip on the top ranking. Sabalenka did not hide her frustration. She smashed her racquet on court after the loss, a rare public display from a player known for her composure, in what BBC Sport described as a year that has seen her fall from the summit of the sport.
"Tough to control emotions," Sabalenka admitted afterward, according to BBC Sport — a plain, honest line from a champion who has now lost another Grand Slam final she expected to win.
For Rybakina, the contrast could not be sharper: a player who arrived in New York on a bad foot and questionable form leaves as the best women's player in the world, by result if nothing else. It's the kind of story that reminds you why nobody should trust a bracket in the first round — the player limping in isn't always the player limping out.
Final score's the last thing that mattered here.
— Compiled from reporting by BBC Sport and ESPN.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."