Elena Rybakina reaches US Open semis, claims No. 1 ranking - ESPN

Elena Rybakina is headed to the US Open semifinals and to the top of the women's tennis rankings.

Rybakina bested Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, guaranteeing she will become No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

The Australian Open champion will face No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 5 Mirra Andreeva on Thursday. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Thursday as the US Open becomes the first major since the 2013 French Open to have four top seeds in the semifinals.

But no matter what happens in the remaining matches, Rybakina will end Sabalenka's 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday.

At 27 years old, Elena Rybakina is the second-oldest woman to make her debut at No. 1 in WTA rankings history:

«It's just a number right now, and of course I'm in the semis, so my goal is to win the tournament,» said Rybakina, who will be the 30th woman to reach No. 1 since the rankings began in 1975. «It's an amazing achievement, but you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking-wise, during the match, so I feel like I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.»

Scheduled to start about eight hours after Ben Shelton finished off his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m. ET, the latest finish in US Open history, Rybakina said she struggled with the sun and shadows in Arthur Ashe Stadium early. Her previous matches had started later in the day.

Zheng capitalized on Rybakina's early struggles to get her only break of the match against one of the best servers in women's tennis and take a 5-3 lead in the first set.

But Zheng, who had been playing from behind so much in Flushing Meadows, couldn't hold on to the lead, and Rybakina rolled through the