Semifinal: Iga Swiatek (POL) vs. Aryna Sabalenka
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Night Session — Second Match
- Thursday's second women's semifinal sees a pair of Top 10 players clash in the form of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka. It's their fifth career meeting, and by far the one with the biggest stakes. Swiatek is bidding to reach her third career Grand Slam singles final, while Sabalenka seeks her first—however, she's played for a Grand Slam trophy in doubles on two occasions. Swiatek is the first No. 1 seed to reach this round at the US Open since Serena Williams in 2016. In the Open Era, the No.1 seed has reached the US Open final 29 times, winning the title 20 times.
- Swiatek comes into the match hoping to extend a string of dominance against Sabalenka: They've played four times in the last 12 months, and the Pole's won the three matches they've played this year. But, Thursday's match marks their first-ever meeting at a Grand Slam. While Swiatek says that the vibes will be different around their first major meeting, she's hoping to draw on what she learned from her first hard-court victory against Sabalenka. "Eeach of these matches was totally different," Swiatek said. "In Doha ... it was the first match where I realized I can actually play really solid against these top-10 players. Aryna was playing really good. It really gave me hope and motivation for the future. ... For sure, I'm going to be working to keep my level of focus, determination the same way. We played each other couple of times, so we know each other. It's going to be pretty similar situation."
- Sabalenka's hoping that the second time's the charm in US Open semifinals: Last year, she lost to Leylah Fernandez in this round from a set up. It's her third Grand Slam semifinal in all, and after falling short twice in 2021 (she also lost in the last four at Wimbledon), she's coming into this match with no expectations. "After this season when I was struggling with a lot of things and I couldn't play my best, but still I was there, I was fighting, and right now, again, I'm in the semifinal," she said. "I have zero expectation for myself. It's going to be tough, and I know I have to really work hard for this win. Now, I will just go there and fight for every point."
- While Swiatek's only lost one set to reach the semifinals--she came from a set down to beat Germany's Jule Niemeier in Round 4--Sabalenka's had second life at this tournament. She came from 6-2, 5-1 down against Kaia Kanepi in Round 2, and has needed nearly 10 hours on court in five wins. In all, Sabalenka has played 22 three-set matches this season, tied for the WTA leader, with a 12-10 record. Sabalenka owns a 2-6 record vs. world No. 1s: She twice beat Ashleigh Barty when the Aussie was at the top in Madrid (2021) and Wuhan (2019). Swiatek's win over Pegula in the quarterfinals marked her eighth straight win over a Top 10 opponent. Sabalenka can return to the Top 5 in the WTA rankings by reaching the final.
