"This is her house" - Rybakina labelled as a 'guest' in Sabalenka's Flushing Meadows home

There is no one currently more dominant at the US Open than Aryna Sabalenka. Her form has been frightening at Flushing Meadows over the past six years, with her team delivering a firm warning in the direction of her latest challenger, Elena Rybakina, in what to expect ahead of their final encounter.

From 2021, there has not been a semi-final lineup at the US Open which does not include Sabalenka. If anything, from this point she has improved en route to making it her impenetrable fortress.

Following last-four exits in 2021 and 2022, her first final in New York occurred a year later. She had intended to back up her maiden Australian Open triumph with more major success, but home favourite Coco Gauff had other ideas.

She would not have to wait long to get her hands on the US Open trophy, seeing off Jessica Pegula in straight sets before backing that up the next year with another title triumph against a different American, this time in the form of Amanda Anisimova.

While her 2026 season has been relatively underwhelming since first stepping foot on clay, her form has risen back to the glittering heights following a highly anticipated return to Flushing Meadows.

A big part of her progression has been down to the work of Jason Stacy, who has guided the four-time Grand Slam champion to the top of the sport since teaming up back in 2018 and serves as her high-performance, fitness, and mental coach.

In the pre-final press conference, he came out with an ominous message sent directly to the Rybakina camp. “The way I like to put it – no disrespect to anybody – is that this is her house, and all the other girls are just guests, and it’s time for them to go home,” he said.

“Her showing up and understanding that it’s her job to dictate the pace, to understand what her strategy is and to not go to the level of the person across the net, not to meet them where they’re at, but ‘I’m here to just do my job, and that’s it.’ That’s how she plays when she plays well. She’s in that moment where she’s getting that connection with herself and that alignment. When she can get out there and play that way, then everyone’s in trouble.”

After her disappointing summer on the road, Sabalenka has burst back into life in this tournament. Apart from a very tight and tense three-set thriller against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, it has been plain sailing for the No.1 seed.

Stacy commented on what he has been impressed by. "From our side, I think the biggest thing that's tough for me is Aryna's ability to keep her composure, to stay on track," he said. "When she needed to, she could bring herself back to centre, reset, and then just play the next point with full intensity and full intention. That was probably the biggest thing that stood out for us.

Her full-time coach, Anton Dubrov, has been alongside Sabalenka since 2020 and has built up a great relationship with the Belarusian.

In this time, he has seen Sabalenka evolve as a person not just on the court in front of the cameras, but away from it as her fame and ambitions take her to different places. "She's aware of lots of things," Dubrov said. "She's much better with managing lots of things outside of the tennis court right now, and she can I think separate much better than it was in the early of her career when she's thinking about, or the way she is on the court, this means that she is as a person. So right now she understands, okay, there is a life outside of the tennis court. It's her job."

Sabalenka is not afraid of showing her raw emotions on court. "Yes, she has her character that she brings on the court, and she using it as a weapon, but at the same time, it doesn't mean if something not going right on the court that it's the whole, life is falling apart. So she's aware of it much more."

Also part of her team is former World No.18 and doubles specialist Max Mirnyi. The former US Open quarter-finalist is a recent acquisition, having joined her fellow countrywoman back in 2025. However, his job as a coach for the time being is not as important, with it all about the two players on the court.

“It comes down to we’re dealing with the two best players in the last couple of years on the women’s side,” Mirnyi said. “Their results and their rankings and their titles speak for themselves. When they see each other across the net, I think that brings the best in each one of them. For us as coaches, there’s probably less to get involved with, because they’re both very good.”

After reiterating her improvement throughout the tournament, the six-time double men's Grand Slam champion voiced his backing for the 28-year-old to go all the way. “We’re hopeful that there’s still one more fight in her left, and we’re going to be behind her 100%. If there’s any adjustments she needs to make or we can alter during the match, we’re going to be there for her and push all the way.”