Under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, with New York humming and the A‑list packed shoulder to shoulder, Elena Rybakina stepped through the noise and took the night for herself.
On a starry Saturday evening, the 2026 US Open women’s singles final drew as much wattage from the stands as from the baseline. Pink, Andrew Garfield, Amy Adams, Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt, and a roll call of Hollywood and music royalty ringed the court, but the real drama played out between Elena Rybakina and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
By the end of three bruising sets, the spotlight belonged to Rybakina.
She beat Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, claiming her first US Open crown, a third Grand Slam title overall, and – just as significantly – the No. 1 ranking in the world. Against a player who has owned this tournament for the past two years, Rybakina didn’t just survive the occasion. She seized it.
Stars in the stands, tension on court
From the opening game, the final carried a sense of occasion. The celebrities arrived early, the cameras followed, and Arthur Ashe felt less like a stadium and more like a premiere.
Pink watched the action alongside Amy Adams and Elizabeth Banks, laughing between points, her heart-shaped red-tinted sunglasses and denim jacket cutting through the sea of neutrals in the players’ box sections. Her presence came just a day after she publicly addressed backlash over her criticism of Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian performances, explaining in a lengthy statement why she had reposted a call for him to be removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour. On Saturday, the conversation moved from social media storms to second serves and break points.
Andrew Garfield worked both sides of the event, appearing on the blue carpet before taking his seat inside. The 43-year-old We Live in Time star kept it understated in a navy zip-up jacket, matching trousers, and sunglasses, blending into a crowd that was anything but low-key.
Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum settled in to watch the final, while Jake Paul arrived with fiancée Jutta Leerdam. The pair were caught on camera checking their phones between points, with Paul leaning in for a kiss as the tension on court ratcheted up. A few rows away, Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon watched the match together, another headline pairing in a stadium full of them.
Andy Cohen sat beside Diplo, talking and reacting to the swings of momentum, while Spike Lee – a regular at this event – stood to wave energetically to the crowd. Saturday Night Live’s Marcello Hernández added a dash of late-night comedy to the guest list simply by being there.
But every roar that rose from those seats came back to the same thing: a final that refused to settle until the third set.
Rybakina rises as Sabalenka’s reign ends
Rybakina struck first. Her clean, flat power and calm shot selection earned her the opening set 6-4, putting Sabalenka – chasing a third straight US Open title – under immediate pressure. The Belarusian responded the only way she knows: by swinging harder, shouting louder, refusing to yield.
The second set tightened. Rybakina edged ahead, Sabalenka clawed back. At 5-7, the defending champion had dragged the match level and, for a moment, it felt like the weight of experience might tilt the night back her way.
Instead, the decider belonged to Rybakina.
She broke early, held firm, and turned the third set into a statement. The scoreboard – 6-2 – told the story of a player who had weathered Sabalenka’s surge and then pulled away with authority. With that final game, Rybakina didn’t just close out a match; she closed a chapter of Sabalenka’s dominance in New York and opened a new one for herself at the top of the sport.
History watching history
High above the baseline, tennis royalty watched the new order take shape.
Billie Jean King, 82 now but forever stitched into the fabric of this tournament, took in the contest. Her own résumé – 12 Grand Slam singles titles, including four US Open crowns – framed the significance of what unfolded below. This was not just another final; it was a coronation in front of someone who helped build the stage.
Maria Sharapova, who lifted this very trophy in 2006, stepped back into the spotlight for the trophy ceremony. Twenty years after her own triumph, she presented Rybakina with the prize, a neat symmetry that underlined how quickly eras turn over in this sport.
Around them, the celebrity roll continued: Abigail Spencer, Fran Drescher, Tyriq Withers and more dotted the stands, adding to a week that had already seen Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Nicole Kidman and others watch the men’s semifinals.
But when Rybakina held the trophy aloft, the noise cut through the gloss and the gossip. The celebrities, the cameras, the curated outfits – all of it faded for a moment behind the raw fact of it: a first US Open title, a third major, and the confirmation that the new world No. 1 is ready to own this stage, not just visit it.
On a night when the stars turned up to watch, one of them left with the sky.
