Pegula speaks on Rybakina’s achievements at the 2026 US Open

World No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the U.S. praised Elena Rybakina’s performance this season after Rybakina won the 2026 U.S. Open title. She said that Rybakina fully deserved to become world No. 1.

Pegula suggested that the uncertainty over Rybakina’s participation in the tournament could have helped her psychologically.

«She’s had an amazing year. And the fact that she didn’t even know if she was going to play this tournament, it seems like that almost helped, relaxed her in a way, because she was — that’s what she said afterwards,» Pegula said on an episode of The Player’s Box podcast.

Rybakina’s participation was indeed in doubt due to her injury. She retired from her quarterfinal in Cincinnati and was off the court for seven days. Later in New York, the Kazakhstani underwent an additional medical examination and only resumed full training several days before the U.S. Open.

Pegula separately highlighted Rybakina’s No. 1 ranking. The Kazakhstani tennis player secured the top spot after defeating China’s Qinwen Zheng in the U.S. Open quarterfinal, topping the rankings for the first time in her career and ending Aryna Sabalenka’s 99-week reign.

«I think she fully deserves to be world No. 1. Not that she didn’t under any other circumstance because she’s obviously been doing well enough to deserve it, but she has been playing so well. Best server on tour. Good at the net too,» Pegula noted.

Pegula also noted that usually even-tempered Rybakina began showing more emotion both during matches and after winning.

«She actually, I thought, has been showing more emotion. She looked happy too, like after she won she just looked like almost like it genuinely surprised her that she won. She was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I got through those couple weeks.’ And it was — I thought it was really cute,» Pegula said.

At the 2026 U.S. Open, Rybakina defeated Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, securing her first U.S. Open title and third Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2026.