Mirra Andreeva and Qinwen Zheng both saw their 2026 US Open campaigns end in the quarter-finals, but their runs still brought significant gains in ranking points, prize money and live ranking position.

Zheng, who once reached world No 4 and is now ranked 121st, fell 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to second seed Elena Rybakina on Wednesday. Her path to the last eight included victories over Kristina Liutova, Yulia Putintseva, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek, as well as three qualifying wins to get into the main draw in New York. That result marked her third appearance in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Andreeva’s run ended one round later in the draw after fifth seed Coco Gauff beat her 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 in the fourth and final women’s quarter-final. The 19-year-old Russian had earlier defeated Janice Tjen, Eva Lys, Nikola Bartunkova and Anastasia Potapova to reach her first US Open semi-final.

Despite the defeats, both players earned 430 WTA ranking points for making the quarter-finals at the year’s final major. Andreeva started the tournament at a career-high No 5 and remains fifth in the Live WTA Rankings, moving up by 300 points to 5,743. Zheng climbed sharply from No 121 to 52nd in the Live Rankings after adding 470 points to reach 1,083.

The financial return was identical as well. Andreeva and Zheng each collected $780,000 for reaching the final eight at Flushing Meadows.

US Open 2026 WTA ranking points breakdown: First Round 10, Second Round 70, Third Round 130, Fourth Round 240, Quarter-finals 430, Semi-finals 780, Finalist 1300, Champion 2000.

US Open 2026 WTA prize money breakdown: First Round $190,000, Second Round $190,000, Third Round $290,000, Fourth Round $480,000, Quarter-finals $780,000, Semi-finals $1.45 million, Finalist $2.8 million, Champion $5.5 million.

Coco Gauff advanced through a tense US Open quarter-final and then moved quickly to defend Mirra Andreeva after the Russian teenager reacted in frustration during the closing stages of a match that swung sharply in the American’s favor.

The women’s draw had already produced a full set of three-set quarter-finals, and that pattern continued when Elena Rybakina defeated Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 before Gauff and Andreeva took over on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

For long stretches, neither player found stable form. The match was filled with mistakes and repeated lapses in rhythm, but Andreeva appeared to have control when she held two match points in the second-set tie-break. Gauff survived that escape act, then steadied herself while Andreeva’s game fell apart in the deciding set. The result was a 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 victory for Gauff in front of an animated home crowd.

“I just had to reset,” Gauff said. “I came out at the start, not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points.

“Mirra was playing a great level, but when I went to the restroom after the first set, honestly I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday.

“We all want to do well in front of this crowd. I was trying to leave the court with no regrets, I didn’t know what outcome would come. You guys really helped pull me through.”

Gauff was later asked about Andreeva throwing her racket in anger in the final set, an action that nearly sent it toward a cameraman. Even so, Gauff rejected the idea that the teenager should have been disqualified.

“Honestly, I didn’t really see any negative reaction except for one racket throw at the changeover,” stated Gauff.

“I felt like she was calm pretty much most of the match. I don’t know what the camera picked up, but I didn’t see any bad behaviour.

“If anything, at the beginning of the match, I was showing the most frustration.

“It’s normal. In the game, I could feel more tension as she started throwing in more errors. I mean she had one throw, but I may probably have done the same if I was in her position.”

Tim Henman said the contest was defined by nerves rather than quality. “It was amazing to watch, because you’ve got two brilliant players capable of playing some amazing tennis who through serving issues and errors became so tight and so nervous,” Henman told Sky Sports.

“The ball speed deteriorated, and went down and down. But that’s the beauty of tennis. It’s about keeping the ball on the island and cutting out unforced errors.

“That is going to be a very difficult defeat for Andreeva to get over, having had match points in the second set. But she will learn so much from it. She’ll be incredibly disappointed.”

Gauff will next face soon to be newly crowned world No 1 Rybakina for a place in the US Open final.

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.