• Sabalenka defeats Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in semi-final

• Champion extends US Open winning streak to 19

• Belarusian faces Rybakina in Saturday’s final

Aryna Sabalenka’s grip on the US Open showed no sign of weakening on Thursday night as the two-time defending champion swept past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to move one win from a third straight title.

The top-seeded Belarusian star finished with 29 winners to Pegula’s 12, her relentless aggression turning what had been a 50-50 fight deep into the opening set into a one-sided affair that marked her 19th consecutive victory at Flushing Meadows.

A Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship cruise missile struck the Russian missile frigate Admiral Essen in the port of Novorossiysk in southern Russia overnight on 8–9 September, the Ukrainian navy claimed. Satellite imagery published by the Ukrainian open-source group Exilenova+ shows fires and apparent damage consistent with the claim. How badly the ship is hurt is unclear.

But if the navy is correct and one of its truck-launched Neptunes hit Admiral Essen, it would be a major victory for Ukraine—and a major loss for Russia. Pummeled by Ukrainian missiles and drones, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has lost or had damaged around a third of its combat strength, by Ukraine's own reckoning. No more than eight of the surviving vessels carry launchers for launching the fleet's best missile: the Kalibr cruise missile.

Taking out those eight Kalibr shooters—two frigates, three corvettes, and as many as three submarines—is a top priority for Ukraine. Preserving the Kalibr ships is one of Russia's top priorities as it escalates its bombardment of Ukrainian cities, factories, warehouses, and power plants.

And the frigate wasn't the only ship in the target set. Ukraine's general staff confirmed hits on three vessels—Admiral Essen, the minesweeper Zheleznyakov, and the landing ship Pyotr Morgunov—along with fuel-oil storage at the port. Exilenova+ reads the imagery as showing two more Kalibr carriers hit: a Kalibr-armed Buyan-M corvette knocked out of action, and fresh damage to sister frigate Admiral Makarov.

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Ukraine reported hitting warships and an oil terminal in a Russian port city whose mayor claimed only falling debris

To be clear, it's evident the Ukrainians have already hit Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov. A Ukrainian drone raid targeting Novorossiysk on 12 August resulted in what appeared to be direct hits to the forward missile cells on both ships.

Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov can launch as many as eight of the 2,500-km Kalibrs at a time from these 3S14 cells. Damage the cells, and the frigates can no longer threaten Ukraine. At least until the Russians can effect repairs. Ukraine's military intelligence directorate described this week's damage as a fire on Admiral Essen's deck superstructure—not its missile cells.

Hitting one of the frigates with a 900-km/h Neptune's 260-kg warhead, as opposed to the much lighter warhead on a much slower drone, could do more than temporarily sideline the ship. It may cause irreparable damage, effectively removing the vessel from the Black Sea Fleet's dwindling order of battle.

Recall that a pair of Neptunes from a much earlier batch of the increasingly powerful missile sank the Russian missile cruiser Moskva in April 2022, initiating the ongoing battle over the Black Sea that has seen the Russians gradually lose irreplaceable ships—and gradually pull back surviving vessels into Novorossiysk's protected basin.

Unsafe haven

Novorossiysk, 350 km from the southern front line, is safer for Russian ships than are, say, the ports of occupied Crimea. But it's not actually safe. Ukrainian drones and missiles routinely target the port and the dozens of ships moored inside.

Most of the Ukrainian munitions miss or get shot down. Undeterred, Ukrainian deep strike forces have only intensified their strikes. Launching more Neptunes would represent another escalation. Drones damage. Neptunes destroy.

Even if one or more Neptunes finally took Admiral Essen out of action this week, there's more work left to do. The Russians normally fire fewer than 10 Kalibrs as part of the mix of missiles and drones they hurl at Ukrainian cities once a week or so.

A single frigate can fire eight Kalibrs at a time. So can a single corvette. A submarine might fire four Kalibrs. Even with Admiral Essen off the board, the carriers that may still be combat-capable can put 16 to 20 Kalibrs into the air at once, per Defence Express. Before 2022 the theoretical figure was 76.

Ukraine's navy puts the number in the same range. On 21 August, spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk counted three surface ships and two submarines able to fire Kalibrs, with both frigates excluded as damaged. He also noted the fleet used its missile carriers once in August, down from three times in July, and now fires from inside protected harbors rather than putting to sea.

But more and better Neptunes may be coming to Novorossiysk. More Kalibr shooters may burn. Ukrainian missile-maker Luch Design Bureau has steadily improved the Neptune with greater range and payload while also increasing production. An open-source tally published by Ukrainska Pravda counted 26 verified Neptune hits on Russian land targets between 2023 and mid-2026.

Ukraine seems determined to eventually reduce the Black Sea Fleet's Kalibr capacity to zero. It will take time and many more strikes, of course. How soon the Ukrainians can send more Neptunes to Novorossiysk may determine how many more Kalibrs blast Ukrainian cities.

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Ukraine finally hit three Russian Kalibr ships on 12 August. On the 19th, an untouched one hit Kyiv

• Sabalenka on brink of trifecta after blitzing Pegula

• Rybakina rallies past Gauff to reach first US Open final

First set: Sabalenka 1-0 *Pegula (*denotes next server)

A strong start for Sabalenka, who wins the first game with ease. She gets an ace on the second point of the match and keeps the rallies short to hold.

Veteran Frenchman bowed out in New York but the clash of two black players in the last four of the men’s singles is testament to his effect

The early days of this year’s US Open can be told in a series of farewells to competitors who plan to end their careers this year. The most moving of them all came in the form of Gaël Monfils’s grand departure inside Louis Armstrong Stadium against the wildly talented 20-year-old Learner Tien. Tien was competing in front of his home crowd, one of the Americans capable of a deep run, but for much of his straight-sets defeat the Frenchman had the American crowd in the palm of his hands.

Beyond the massive popularity he has garnered among tennis fans, one of the most striking parts of Monfils’s long farewell was seeing how highly nearly all of his fellow professionals, particularly his fellow black players, regard him. Frances Tiafoe says he spent his youth looking up to Monfils. Arthur Fils considers Monfils his older brother. Naomi Osaka’s nickname for Monfils, one of her idols, is simply “the Goat”. They all hold Monfils in such great esteem, and for good reason.

Democrats are targeting Trump’s relationship with Epstein as part of strategy ahead of midterm elections

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, accused his rival Ken Paxton of “ignoring” survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, as Democrats seek to increase pressure on Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Speaking in Dallas, where Republicans are holding a midterm convention this week, Talarico appeared alongside one of Epstein’s victims at an exhibit that featured about 3.5m pages of Department of Justice’s files related to Epstein.

Trump’s promise to pay $5,000 to every adult US citizen if the Republicans win in November was only one questionable moment in a nearly two-hour speech

• This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday

Hello, from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where on Wednesday night Trump definitely, definitely, did not try to bribe the American public into voting for his party in November.

Speaking for almost two hours at the American Airlines Center, Trump promised to pay every adult citizen in the US $5,000 if Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterm elections. The speech felt very much like a desperate last pitch to voters: the electoral equivalent of a dumped boyfriend offering to take his estranged girlfriend on a mini-break to Venice.

Trump promise of $5,000 for US citizens after midterms decried as ‘bribery’

As the midterms loom, Trump returns to his happy place: on stage in the theatre of the absurd

Trump’s top six falsehoods about 9/11 as 25th anniversary nears

Republican calls department of motor vehicles a ‘bloated bureaucracy’ as he seeks to boost his longshot campaign

The longshot California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton pledged this week to abolish the state’s department of motor vehicles if he is elected, promising to shutter the oft-criticized department for good and set a flat $73 annual registration fee per car.

Hilton, a Trump-backed former conservative pundit running in reliably blue California, called the state’s DMV a “bloated bureaucracy”, during a Tuesday campaign event, echoing the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce.

Court declined to ⁠put on hold ⁠injunction preventing the USPS from tightening rules around postal voting

A US appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting before November’s high-stakes midterm elections, dealing a fresh blow to the president’s attempted crackdown.

The Boston-based first US circuit court of appeals declined on Thursday to ⁠put on hold an ⁠injunction issued by a ​lower court judge last week, preventing the US Postal Service (USPS) from tightening rules around postal voting.

Surprise appearance by Pennsylvania senator raises fresh questions over loyalty to and future in Democratic party

The Democratic senator John Fetterman’s decision to address the Republican National Committee (RNC) midterm convention via video sparked a furious response from some members of his party.

Fetterman’s surprise appearance – and praise of his fellow Pennsylvania senator, Republican Dave McCormick – raised fresh questions over his loyalty to, and future inside, the Democratic party.

Latest decision appears to set the stage for the state to use its old electoral maps this year

The US supreme court again rejected a push backed by Donald Trump to overhaul Missouri’s congressional maps in an effort to hand Republicans an edge in November’s midterm elections.

Its latest ruling, after days of confusion, comes less than two months before the pivotal midterm elections in which control of the narrowly divided US House of Representatives could be determined by a handful of seats.

Critics react to bid for Republican votes with incredulity and point to potential $1.2tn cost atop existing national debt

Donald Trump’s promise of a $5,000 “Trump dividend” for every US citizen if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in November’s midterm elections has sparked incredulity and accusations of bribery.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump said during the unprecedented Republican midterm convention in Dallas. “It will be called the Trump dividend.”

Teo Davidov doesn’t hit backhands. He serves from both sides. The 16-year-old from Denver is treating the tennis world to a wildly unorthodox style – and proving it’s more than a parlor trick

Teo Davidov always has the upper hands. An amiable junior prodigy from Denver, the 16-year-old was the oddest sight at this year’s US Open, the only player in the tournament – man, woman or junior – who hits only forehands. To be clear: it’s not that he doesn’t have a backhand or can’t hit a backhand. He’s ambidextrous and so he doesn’t bother with them.

It’s nothing personal. “To be honest, I like the traditional backhand-forehand,” he says. “I like the classiness of it. I like hitting backhands myself just to play around, just for fun.” He hits those from both wings, too.

Host says he’s interviewing Senate candidate ‘under unusual circumstances’ and it will be posted on YouTube

Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel has said an upcoming interview with the Democratic Senate candidate from Texas James Talarico will not air on ABC, the US network that broadcasts his show, after the federal media regulator “threatened” his show, ABC and its local affiliates.

“Tomorrow night I’ll be interviewing James Talarico under unusual circumstances,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday.

• Fiba World Cup: USA 108-56 Hungary

• Reese and Clark have been portrayed as fierce rivals

Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark’ s interactions are a subplot of the women’s Fiba World Cup, the WNBA season and if you spend enough time on social media, a divided United States. Clark and Reese have shown their relationship on the court is thriving, and they both excelled in USA’s 108-56 quarter-final win over Hungary on Thursday.

In Thursday’s game, the growing chemistry showed. The pair had a nifty pick-and-roll to end the first quarter that ended with a layup by Reese. The Atlanta Dream forward returned the favor hitting Clark on a fastbreak for an easy lay-up later in the game.

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• Trump promise of $5,000 for US citizens after midterms decried as ‘bribery’

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The Supreme Court has blocked a federal judge’s ruling that would’ve restored Republican-drawn congressional districts in Missouri.

The decision, issued by justice Brett Kavanaugh, appeared to sound a death knell for efforts by the Missouri GOP to extract an additional Republican-leaning congressional seat for their party ahead of the midterm elections.

President’s quest in self-mythology stops off in Dallas for a Republican convention where fans indulged his lies and revelled in his jokes

Kim Il-sung of North Korea reportedly sought transfusions of blood from young men; Mao Zedong of China believed sex with young women could prolong his life; Muammar Gaddafi underwent fat injections and hair transplantation to make himself look younger. But for Donald Trump, the secret of eternal youth lies in nights like this.

The occasion of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas was enough to get the 80-year-old US president’s juices flowing. An arena with thousands of fanatical supporters indulging his lies, laughing at his jokes and burnishing his fantasies of greatness is Trump’s happy place.

President makes offer that would cost US over $1tn and asks voters to ‘pretend that I’m on the ballot’ despite being deeply unpopular among electorate

Donald Trump pledged to pay every adult citizen in the US $5,000 if Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterm elections, during a marathon speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas in which the president assailed Democrats as “radical” and defended his unpopular war in Iran.

The outlandish proposal, which would cost over $1tn, immediately raised ethical concerns. But it laid bare the extent of the Republicans’ concern about their prospects in the pivotal November elections.