Vue lecture

Elena Rybakina beats Aryna Sabalenka to seal dramatic US Open title triumph

  • Rybakina wins 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 despite first-serve problems

  • Overcomes top seed and two-time defending champion

Even after she had won grand slam titles and conquered all surfaces, Elena Rybakina has always been considered lesser than the greatest players of her era. She has long been one of the most devastating shotmakers in the world, but there were always a couple more consistent and mentally tougher players above her.

She leaves New York, finally, as the undisputed best tennis player on the planet, the new standard bearer of the women’s game, after following up her snatching of the No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka by succeeding her as the US Open champion. As she has done throughout this unforgettable week, the Kazakhstani showed her toughness in another spectacular tussle with her great rival, nervelessly closing out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Sabalenka, the top seed and two-time defending champion.

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© Photograph: Robert Deutsch/IMAGN IMAGES/Reuters

© Photograph: Robert Deutsch/IMAGN IMAGES/Reuters

© Photograph: Robert Deutsch/IMAGN IMAGES/Reuters

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USA survive Spain scare to set up Olympic final rematch with France at Fiba World Cup

  • Four-time defending champions beat Spain 76-66

  • Stewart scores 16 as USA pull away in fourth

  • Americans to face France in rematch of Paris final

The United States advanced to the Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup final for the fifth consecutive time, pulling away in the fourth quarter to beat Spain 76-66 on Saturday in Berlin.

Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and Kahleah Copper added 13 for the four-time defending champions, who were tied at 58 entering the fourth quarter before finally taking control. Jackie Young added 12 points.

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© Photograph: Christina Pahnke/sampics/Getty Images

© Photograph: Christina Pahnke/sampics/Getty Images

© Photograph: Christina Pahnke/sampics/Getty Images

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Ben Shelton faces date with destiny against Zverev in US Open final

World No 4 will become the first Black American man to win the singles title at Flushing Meadow since Arthur Ashe if he can beat German for the first time

As Ben Shelton lapped up the explosion of joy and adoration from a full Arthur Ashe Stadium after reaching a grand slam final for the first time, one of his first thoughts was of his paternal grandmother, Regina, who died this year. Shelton credited his grandmother with ensuring that his father, Bryan, made it as a top professional, becoming one of a small group of Black men on the tour. “My dad lost his mom earlier this year and she’s the reason he was able to play tennis,” he said. “Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her.”

Shelton stands on the verge of history. On Sunday, he will attempt to become the first Black American man to win the US Open singles title since Arthur Ashe in 1968, a feat he will attempt inside the stadium named after Ashe. Shelton would also be the first Black man to win any grand slam singles title since Yannick Noah at Roland Garros in 1983, and the third overall. He is also aiming to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.

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© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

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Elena Rybakina beats Aryna Sabalenka to win US Open for first time – as it happened

The new No 1 underlined her status as the best player in the world by ending the two-time defending champion’s reign with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory

Rybakina

First round def Thea Frodin (WC) 6-3, 6-2
Second round def Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4
Third round def Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-6 (6), 6-3
Fourth round def Naomi Osaka (13) 6-1, 6-4
Quarter-final def Zheng Qinwen (Q) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Semi-final def Coco Gauff (4) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

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© Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

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Taxes wouldn’t fund $5,000 Trump ‘dividend’ if Republicans win midterms, says commerce secretary

Lutnick said $500bn of estimated $1tn needed to fund checks to all US adults could come from new visa program

Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to give a $5,000 “dividend” to all US adults if Republicans maintain control of Congress in November’s elections would not be paid out from US tax revenues, according to the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick.

“It’s not tax money,” Lutnick said in an interview with NBC News, adding that the administration could “earn the money that Donald Trump wants to pay out, not from the deficit and not from taxpayers”.

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© Photograph: Jonathan Drake/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Drake/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Drake/Reuters

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Why is Trump’s $5,000 offer to voters ‘like a woman’? Ask Fox News | Arwa Mahdawi

Host Jesse Watters says Trump’s offer to Americans if Republicans retain Congress is ‘an enticement’, not a bribe

I think I finally understand why Fox News pays Jesse Watters the big bucks. The network star, famous for hot takes like men shouldn’t “eat soup in public”, has an incredible talent for inserting misogyny into absolutely any news story.

Take, for example, Donald Trump’s ludicrous announcement on Wednesday night that he will give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in November’s midterm election. That’s a story about apparent bribery, right? A story about fiscal recklessness and empty promises. A story about how the president, whose popularity is plummeting, is so out of ideas that he’s resorted (yet again) to dangling cash in front of voters.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

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© Photograph: Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters

© Photograph: Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters

© Photograph: Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters

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Shelton tips Tiafoe at US Open to move one win from ending 23-year drought

  • 23-year-old defeats Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5

  • Shelton is first Black US men’s finalist since Ashe

  • American will face top seed Zverev for title

For 23 years they have come and gone. Andy Roddick tried again. Andre Agassi made one final run. James Blake, Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz all carried the hopes of American men’s tennis deep into the second week of major championships, only to thrash against the ceiling of the sport’s European hegemony time and again.

Now Ben Shelton gets his chance. The fearless 23-year-old from Atlanta surged into his first career grand slam final on a feverish Friday night at the US Open, completing a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 fightback over Frances Tiafoe in a pulsating all-American semi-final beneath the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The result leaves him one victory from becoming the first man from the United States to win one of the sport’s four bedrock tournaments since Roddick triumphed here in 2003.

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© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

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