Elena Rybakina clinched the world No 1 spot after beating Qinwen Zheng to reach the US Open semi-finals.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan will usurp Aryna Sabalenka, whose 99-week reign at the top of the rankings will end on Monday.
Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, has been chasing down Sabalenka all year and will be No 1 for the first time in her career even if the Belarusian goes on to win a third consecutive title.
But Rybakina will have something to say about that as well, having reached the last four at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
“It means a lot, of course, but I don’t think about it so much,” she said. “It’s a great achievement, and I feel like you will appreciate and think about it even more when you finish your career.
“Like now, you still need to keep on going, and it’s nice whenever you’re done to say ‘OK I won these tournaments, I’ve been number one, it’s amazing’.
“But you never know how long you’re going to stay. I want to win the titles still in the tournaments, so all my thoughts are just for the next match.”
Rybakina dropped a set for the first time this fortnight but hit back strongly in the second. Then Zheng’s near 12 hours on court, through three qualifying matches and five in the main draw, finally caught up with her in the decider as Rybakina won 3-6 6-1 6-4.
Zheng was enjoying an Emma Raducanu-style run in New York but, although the 23-year-old from China’s fairy tale eventually came to an end, she is now back on the verge of the top 50 having slipped to 121 after elbow surgery.
“That was a pity for me to lose this match, but obviously I can take positive things from the US Open this year,” she said.
“Today just a few points made the difference. That’s it. I have nothing to say.”
open image in galleryRybakina will face American fourth seed Coco Gauff, who saved two match points on her way to a three-set victory over teenage French Open winner Mirra Andreeva.
It was a horrible start for 2023 champion Gauff, whose serve and forehand deserted her as she lost the first set in just 26 minutes, hitting only three winners and making 14 unforced errors.
She improved in the second which culminated in a tie-break, during which Russian fifth seed Andreeva squandered two chances to take the match.
That broke Andreeva’s spirit and she risked being defaulted after hurling her racket towards her chair, inadvertently sending it spinning towards a camera operator who had to dodge out of the way.
Gauff eventually won 2-6 7-6 (7) 6-2 and revealed she took inspiration from a fellow American’s comeback on Tuesday.
She said: “I think I just had to reset. I gave her too many free points.
“In the restroom I was thinking abut Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday. We all want to do well in front of this crowd and I wanted to leave the court without any regrets. Thanks to you guys for pulling me through.”
With top seed Sabalenka playing third-ranked Jessica Pegula, it means this year’s US Open is the first grand slam since Wimbledon 2009 to feature the top four women’s seeds in the semi-finals.