Tennis
2026-09-10 - Coco Gauff vs Elena Rybakina
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : US Open Tennis Semi Final
Thursday 10th September 2026 - Scheduled 8:30pm EST
1:30am (British Time)
Preview
The come from behind win in the Quarter Final means Elena Rybakina has secured the World Number 1 Ranking regardless of how this tournament is concluded. However, she looked to be taking in that achievement in her stride and the focus is on backing up the success at the Australian Open by adding this hard court Grand Slam to the collection.
It is fitting that the top four players in the World Rankings are all involved in the final four at the US Open after Coco Gauff also rallied for a Quarter Final win.
The American is one of two former Champions still in the tournament and Coco Gauff continues to dig deep and win matches even when not at her best. This is a strong character trait and even seeing the run of sets won come to an end did not stop Coco Gauff from believing she could turn the Quarter Final back around.
At the same time, Coco Gauff will be the first to admit that she was not at her best in the win on Wednesday and she will have to improve significantly to beat someone in the form of Elena Rybakina.
Both of these players reached the Final of different WTA 1000 tournaments in the lead up to the US Open, although Coco Gauff won the title in Cincinnati and Elena Rybakina came up a little short in Toronto.
However, Elena Rybakina did beat Coco Gauff in her run in Toronto and used her superior serve to earn the edge in that match.
This has to be the approach to this Semi Final and Elena Rybakina has found her easy power working very well on the New York City hard courts. The performances have been impressive and it is a real surprise that she had not been beyond the Fourth Round at the US Open previously, but Elena Rybakina has looked more comfortable here this year and it is the serve that is going to set things up for her.
Coco Gauff has been serving pretty well herself, but was put under a lot of pressure by Mirra Andreeva in the Quarter Final before turning things around. There is little time between the Quarter Final and Semi Final to make big adjustments and it could be another difficult day for the American with the pressure that Elena Rybakina can create with her own delivery.
The fans are going to give Gauff a boost and this is a player that never knows when they are beaten, which makes her dangerous.
In saying that, Coco Gauff will know she needs to improve significantly on the performance produced against Elena Rybakina last month in Toronto and the future World Number 1 looks a big price as the underdog.
Prediction
Look for the next World Number 1 to find a way to end the Coco Gauff winning run as a narrow underdog.
The Pick :
Coco Gauff 1-2 Elena Rybakina
