Elena Rybakina advanced into the US Open semifinals after overcoming Qinwen Zheng in a tight three-set battle.

After dropping the opening set, Rybakina responded with authority, taking the next two 6-1, 6-4 to move into the final four at the US Open for the first time in her career. The victory also confirmed a major milestone: when the WTA rankings are released on Monday, following both of the US Open finals, she will rise to world No 1.

That outcome means Rybakina has now replaced Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the rankings, ending Sabalenka’s two-season stay in that position.

Reflecting on the match on court with Andrea Petkovic, Rybakina said: “It’s tough to find words. It’s been very difficult match and honestly a lot of nerves, of course.

“It wasn’t maybe the highest level but I am glad I pushed through and thank you so much guys for coming, supporting. It’s been an early match and in my head I was complaining a little bit about the sun, shadow, a lot of things.

“It was definitely a battle inside me, but I’m glad that I pushed all the negative thoughts away and I kept fighting. Again, super happy to be in the semis here. I didn’t start that well.

“It was too much negative and also it wasn’t easy because all the matches I played here were at night and I was scheduled to play once in the morning and it was raining so basically it’s been the first match like this with the sun so there were a lot of unforced errors. Then I was just telling myself keep fighting, keep working on some things, and it went my way.

“I’m just super happy. It’s just a number right now and, of course, I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament. I go one match at a time. It’s an amazing achievement, but you know how quick everything can change in tennis ranking wise, during the match. I feel like i just need to focus on my game, try to recover, and enjoy tomorrow.”

Rybakina will next face either Coco Gauff or Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals. Her record against Andreeva is evenly split at two wins apiece from four meetings on the WTA Tour, while against Gauff she has one win and one defeat, suggesting another close contest whichever opponent she meets.

Elena Rybakina’s US Open quarter-final against Qinwen Zheng carried more than the usual stakes. A victory would not only send her into the semi-finals, it would also leave her with a chance to move to world No 1 and reach the final.

Instead, the opening set went badly for Rybakina. Zheng took it 6-3, and the Kazakh’s body language on Arthur Ashe Stadium was clearly troubled when the Chinese player stepped away for a toilet break.

From commentary, the match also became notable for the conversation between Rybakina and coach Stefano Vukov. Tim Henman described it as an ‘animated discussion’ during Sky Sports Tennis coverage of the US Open, with both voices rising even though the exact words were hard to hear.

Naomi Cavaday offered further context, explaining that the exchange reflected Rybakina’s frustration with what she was being asked to do. “Well this has been the dynamic from quite early on in the match. Clearly Rybakina’s not happy with what she’s being told to do and is essentially saying ‘it’s not working,’” revealed Cavaday.

She added: “One of the issues that we heard midway through the first set was her feeling like she was being pulled around. Her coach, Stefano Vukov said, ‘You’re allowing her to open up the angle’. I think we heard a little bit more about that there Tim. She’s saying it’s easy for Zheng to take her wide.

Henman agreed that the tactical discussion was intense. “Yeah, and I think coach Vukov was saying do the same. If she’s trying to drop back in the court you can play the short angles to open it up and also on second serve. And also on serve, he was saying ‘You’ve got to be alert. You’ve got to be ready to move your feet if Zheng goes for that faster second serve, so plenty of things to think about for Rybakina.

Cavaday also pointed to earlier examples of similar exchanges working in Rybakina’s favour. “If we think back to the Australian Open and actually Vukov was giving a lot of information to Rybakina in the semi final and the final and really helped her to turn those matches around,” she revealed.

“She was down in that final to Sabalenka and she was able to recover it. But she was taking on board the information. That was a bit of a battle between the two of them, but it seems like she just isn’t buying what he’s trying to tell her.”

Henman finished by underlining the tension. “It sounded more like an argument than a discussion. She’s obviously frustrated. Let’s not forget she had five break points and didn’t take any of them, so it’s going to be interesting to see how she responds.”

Rybakina then appeared to absorb the message, moving ahead 3-0 in the second set.

Former world No. 4 Greg Rusedski has pressed the US Open to rethink its scheduling after the quarter-final between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz created a fresh controversy.

Shelton came through a dramatic five-set battle, winning 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) in 4 hours and 28 minutes in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match did not finish until 3:33am in New York, setting a new US Open record for the latest-ever conclusion.

Speaking on his Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast, the 1997 US Open runner-up said the tournament needs a better answer to nights like this.

“There has to be some sort of solution,” said the 1997 US Open runner-up.

He then outlined possible ways the event could reduce the risk of such extreme finishes. “I mean, the question mark [is] what do you do? Do you put one on Arthur Ashe [Stadium]. Do you put one on [Louis] Armstrong [Stadium] and sell two tickets at the same time for the quarter-finals?

“Because now that we’re in the semi-final stage, it’s really easy to organise everything, and this happened to be the longest day because every match went the distance.

“And I think that’s the the other option is you put the quarters, one on Louis Armstrong, one on Arthur Ashe, and you start them at the exact hour where [it’s] 7, 7:30, especially in the men’s singles, and then you figure out, or you put one men’s [and] one women during the day, and you mix it up that way and you find a solution.

“Finishing off at three o’clock in the morning, by the time Ben finishes his recovery and gets back to the hotel at 6 am… good luck getting to sleep as well.

“And after you’ve done your massage, your treatment your eating, no practice, complete day off.

“And it gives Frances Tiafoe a little bit of an advantage in that respect, because when they come out the next day for the semis on Friday, recovery is going to be difficult. It’s not going to be easy.”