US Open: High-stakes battle as No 1 ranking on the line

It will be Qin vs a would-be-queen at the US Open on Wednesday, a blockbuster quarter-final clash of immense significance.

On the face of it world No 2 Elena Rybakina should be secretly pleased that she would only have to beat a qualifier to reach the semi-finals and become the new world No 1 in women’s tennis.

But here’s the catch.

Qinwen Zheng is no ordinary qualifier. The Chinese world No 121 has already dispatched two Grand Slam champions – Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek – after being down 5-0 in each match, before recovering to win both those sets.

The Olympic champion and former world No 4 is also nursing a grudge.

She was denied a wildcard and had to go through the ignominy of having to play three matches in the qualifiers. The 23-year-old, who felt she "forgot how to compete" during her enforced absence due to an elbow surgery last year, said she can now feel her competitive fire burning. "I have a lot of emotions when I'm playing the qualie matches," she said. "I was even crying after I won the third match reaching to the main draw, and you know, main draw is just the beginning.”

Zheng said it took her some time to settle in on the cavernous Ashe court against Swiatek as she fell behind 0-5 in the opening set, noting it's been "a long, long time" since she'd been scheduled on a main show court.

"I would say right now, the most important challenge for me is to keep this humble and be there, fight like I have nothing. The reality is you are just 125, so you are not the top 10 you were before. Don't treat yourself so high. You are here as everyone else. You start from the ground, so stay there and keep fighting," she said.

Against someone who is so grounded, yet desperate to prove she belongs on the show courts, the two-time Grand Slam champion and the reigning Australian Open champion would do well to keep up the intensity she showed against Naomi Osaka in her fourth round match and not let the added weight of fulfilling one of her long-cherished goals of becoming the queen of tennis play on her mind.

"Of course I want it, I don't know anyone who wouldn't wish this, but definitely that's one of my goals," Rybakina said. "I try to approach the same way, try to do everything I can, fight until the end my next match and let's see what's going to happen."

Even if Rybakina loses today, she can still get to No 1 if neither of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, or Jessica Pegula wins the title, which is quite a long shot.

But the Kazakh star will be buoyed by her head-to-head record against Zheng which is at 4-1, with the 2022 Wimbledon champion winning their last two matches in Madrid and Doha this year, albeit in three sets, with Zheng beating Rybakina for her only win at the WTA Finals in 2024.

Expect the 2024 Australian Open finalist to come out swinging against Rybakina, who, despite her ice-cool persona has been known to crumble under pressure. And given how high the stakes are, this one should make for an explosive encounter.