Tuesday, September 08, 2026

US.10- She Needs a Hero


Still in the mix, but also hoping for a lifeline.










=DAY 10 NOTES=
...for the top-seeded two-time defending U.S. Open champ Aryna Sabalenka, it's been a trying spring and summer following her Sunshine Double triumph. As 2026 has gone on, her slippage in results has even begun to infect her finishes in majors in recent months, not in the fashion of her coming up short in the final stages of the events (yet again, as that happened when she lost three major finals in five events through AO26) but in the form of her not even getting *that* far.

Sabalenka's QF in Paris ended her run of six straight slam SF+ finishes (she'd gone out that early in just one of her previous 13), then her *4th Round* exit at Wimbledon was her worst result in a major since the '22 RG.

Still, she arrived on Day 10 with a shot at another major SF berth, but after having yet to be truly been tested in this tournament. Through the first four rounds, Sabalenka hadn't dropped a set, surrendering just an average of 5.5 games a match, but she'd also faced just one opponent ranked in the Top 60, #59 Camila Osorio in the 1st Round. Her other three Flushing Meadows victims had, in order, been ranked #160, #92 and #96.

All that changed on Tuesday, when the reigning Wimbledon champ, #6 Linda Noskova, showed up trying to return to the final four at a major just two months after winning her maiden slam crown. The Czech would give Sabalenka a (likely much-needed) scare, while also allowing the (at least for the moment) world #1 to prove that, yes, she can still play like *that* player on the biggest points on the biggest stages. Especially in the hard court majors where she's so often made her career mark.

Sabalenka got off to a strong start, and held a single-break lead at 3-0 over the Czech. But Noskova gradually pulled herself back into things. As Sabalenka served for the set at 5-3, the Belarusian played her very worst game, DF'ing to go down 15/30 and then having the game unravel from there as Noskova broke to get the set back on serve.

But, unlike as has been the case in other circumstances this season, Sabalenka didn't allow her previous poor game to snowball into a collapse. She held in a professional service game two games later, then Noskova did the same to force a TB.

Having not lost a TB in New York since 2022 (her outrageous overall slam TB win streak ended at 21 at Wimbledon), Sabalenka emphatically stated her case this time, confidently taking a 6-0 lead and securing the opening set with a 7-1 win.

Sabalenka had multiple opportunities to grab an advantage in the 2nd, but simply could not get the job done. Two BP in game 1, and another in game 5, went by the wayside. Then Noskova was the one to take a break lead at 4-2. Sabalenka saved a SP on serve in game 8, but Noskova converted on her third of game 9 (fourth overall), holding for 6-3 to take her first set in three match-ups with Sabalenka (the Czech had previously lost all five sets in the series, two via TB).

In the decider, Sabalenka again couldn't convert a BP chance in game 2, then the two exchanged consecutive love holds in games 3 & 4. Sabalenka fell behind love/40 in the next game, with Noskova breaking on her second opportunity to take a 3-2 lead and then holding at love a game later.

But Sabalenka's resurgence would continue, and pick up much-needed momentum. A hold at 15 preceded her taking a love/40 lead on return in game 8. Noskova pushed a short ball long and things were back on serve at 4-4. Fully rediscovering her past self, Sabalenka followed up with a classic *big* game, holding again at 15 to re-take the scoreboard lead in the set. Again, things would go to a TB (this time a 10-point MTB).

Sabalenka would drop the opening point on serve, but held her ground and soon edged ahead with a mini-break lead at 4-3. Noskova didn't back down, though, firing off some clutch winners and getting things back on serve with a break of Sabalenka's serve to get to within 7-6. But Sabalenka immediately responded, taking her mini-break lead back on the next point, then stepping to the line to serve while up 8-7. Two points later, on her first MP, Sabalenka blasted an ace to win her tenth straight U.S. Open TB and reached the SF for a sixth straight year with a 7-6(1)/3-6/7-6(10-7) victory.



Sabalenka has now reached at least the SF at the last nine hard court majors (10/11), and has played in the final of the last seven AO/US tournaments (and now looks to make it eight). With 18 consecutive wins at the Open, she's 24-1 in New York since 2023, and 55-4 in hard court majors since the '22 U.S..

Of course, while Sabalenka's first thought for the rest of this week will be about trying to become the third woman in the Open era to three-peat in this event (after Evert and S.Williams; the only two since Mo Connolly in the mid-1950s), she *could* still retain her #1 ranking if a few things go her way. She also *could* win the title and still be #2 next Monday, though.

Essentially, she'll "need a hero" (or two) to stay in the top spot. First off, Zheng Qinwen *has* to defeat Elena Rybakina tomorrow. While there are still scenarios including Coco Gauff and Jessie Pegula, they'd be irrelevant if Rybakina reaches the SF. But if Zheng *does* win, then suddenly *everything* would be on Sabalenka's racket once again.

...speaking of Pegula, the #3 seed was in the lead-off match position on Ashe on Tuesday night, meaning she was going to be disparaged by glancing social media blows since the U.S. Open's schedule-makers once again set the stage for an ultra-long night with a full men's match to follow.

As it was, Pegula played a pretty sloppy game vs. #26 Emma Navarro (against whom Pegula was 4-0) for a large part of the night. She had five DF in the 1st set alone, losing it 6-3.

It was here where ESPN's CoCo Vandeweghe noted Pegula's 0-6 career start in slam QF and wondered if it provided a mental block, leading Mary Joe Fernandez to fairly quickly note that Pegula had actually *won* three of her last four major QF matches (including at the last two U.S. Opens). Yep, I'm leaning toward the FOS side of the Vandeweghe argument.

As Pegula tried to get her game straight, she took a break lead at 3-1 in the 2nd, but gave it back a game later. That's went Navarro swung the door open for her when, serving down 4-5, she DF'd to give Pegula a huge BP chance. She got it, leveling the match.

Navarro got the early break lead in the 3rd (2-1), but this time it was she who returned the favor a game later. With all aspects of Pegula's game revving up, she soon took control, breaking for 4-2. She served for the match at 5-3, saving a BP mid-game, but converting on her second MP. Winning four of the final five games, Pegula won 3-6/6-4/6-3 to reach her third straight U.S. Open SF (and, ahem, improved to 4-1 in her last five slam QF, including three SF runs at the last five majors).



She'll face Sabalenka, who holds a 9-4 edge in their head-to-head, for a spot in the final. Sabalenka is 5-1 on hard court in the series since 2024, including previous U.S. Open wins over Pegula in the '24 final and '25 SF.

BTW, with the #1 and #3 seeds into the semis, there's a chance for *all four* top seeds to get there. That's only happened once in the Open era at the U.S. Open, in 1975. It hasn't happened in *any* major since the 2009 Wimbledon.

...in wheelchair doubles, Diede de Groot & Aniek Van Koot fell in their opening match vs. Guo Luoyao & Momoko Ohtani. De Groot will open the singles vs. countrywoman Lizzy de Greef.

The doubles #1 seeds - Kamiji/Zhu and Li/Wang-- both reached the semis.






*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. #6 Linda Noskova/CZE
#3 Jessie Pegula/USA def. #26 Emma Navarro/USA
#5 Mirra Andreeva/RUS vs. #4 Coco Gauff/USA
(Q) Zheng Qinwen/CHN vs. #2 Elena Rybakina/KAZ

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 Siniakova/Townend (CZE/USA) vs. #8 Mertens/Schuurs (BEL/NED)
(WC) Krueger/Montgomery (USA/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Stefani (CAN/BRA)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
Karolina Muchova/Jakub Mensik (CZE/CZE) def. #4 Belinda Bencic/Flavio Cobolli (SUI/ITA) 6-3/1-6 [10-6]

*GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Sun Xinran/CHN vs. #14/WC Kristina Penickova/USA
#12 Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi/ARG vs. #7 Mariia Makarova/RUS
Zhang Ruien/CHN vs. Chukwumelije Clarke/USA
#11 Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas/RUS vs. #8 Nana Silva/BRA
#5 Anna Pushkareva/RUS vs. #10 Paola Pinera Celorio/ESP
Ekaterina Dotsenko/RUS vs. (WC) Annika Penickova/USA
#6 Janae Preston/USA vs. #9 Polina Skliar/UKR
(Q) Arina Malygina/RUS vs. #2 Jana Kovackova/CZE

*WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF*
#1 Kamiji/Zhu (JPN/CHN) vs. Bos/de Greef (NED/NED)
Guo/Ohtani (CHN/JPN) vs. #2 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN)










...UPDATE... ON DAY 10:





...WHEN ALONA ISN'T THE TEAM MEMBER LEADING THE DRAMA... ON DAY 10:




Worth the long read...




No more drama at this Open, though, as Hsieh & Ostapenko lost their QF match today.


...CLOSING THE ROOF DURING PLAY AT 5-4 IN THE 3rd OF SABALENKA/NOSKOVA, WITH A LINE OF SUN MOVING ACROSS THE COURT DURING POINTS... ON DAY 10:


Hey, why not? They've colored themselves in stupidity and/or ineptitude from the week before the regular tournament forward. Why stop now?

Truthfully, the U.S. Open officially stopped being a serious tennis major last year when they decided to turn one of their prestigious competitions into a circus act (while some members of the peanut gallery cheered it on), so nothing can ever really be "surprising," "stunning" or "shocking" anymore.


...PROOF OF WHAT I'VE ALWAYS EXPECTED... ON DAY 10:


Namely, that all the tennis players who don various shades of New York Yankees caps really have no idea what team the cap actually represents.




Actually, I'm almost impressed that Rybakina even knew it was *any* New York sports team, as I half-way expected most to just think it was a a "New York City" logo that was just reproduced everywhere on various products.

That said, no one is dumb enough to buy New York Mets caps thinking the same thing.


..."THINKING" MORE ON IGA... ON DAY 10:


You know, in an alternate universe, Swiatek would drop off tour for nine months to a year, then suddenly a player would re-appear who starts winning all sorts of tournaments, and who reminds people an *awful* lot of Iga. When asked if she really *was* Iga, she'd just say, "I don't know what you're talking about. My name's Toby Kidd."



Or, my *original* version of this story from a while back...

Meanwhile, come 2300, it will be revealed that Professor Mayfair Bartkowski -- for reasons known only to her -- used her first time machine to travel back to 1981 and pick up Toby Kidd at the library of Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina (during 3rd period) and then switch her out with Iga Swiatek sometime during the summer of 2024.

The real Iga lived out the remainder of her days in early 22nd century Barcelona, winning six more Roland Garros titles while using the name "Toby Kidd" and joking about her resemblance to the multi-major title winner from the 2020s. Meanwhile, the real Toby, after at first being uncomfortable in her own skin after undertaking the role of "Iga" decid-... well, we wouldn't want to give away any spoilers and ruin the "fun" to come, now would we?




...Hmmm, THE ONE TOP MEN'S PLAYER (not counting Djokovic) I'M GOOD WITH WATCHING vs. THE LONE U.S. MALE THAT I CAN ACTUALLY TOLERATE... FOR ONCE, THIS GOT A LEGITMATELY INTRIGUED "YES" FROM ME... ON DAY 10:
































The legendary NYC Chelsea Hotel












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Alas, a potential Zheng/Navarro final is now officially off the table. IYKYK.










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**BACKSPIN 2026 BJK QUALIFIERS AWARDS**
=MVPs=
Marta Kostyuk, UKR
Linda Noskova, CZE (Overall MVP)
Jasmine Paolini, ITA
Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
Kaitlin Quevedo, ESP
Mika Stojsavljevic, GBR
Hanne Vandewinkel, BEL

=RISERS=
Marie Bouzkova, CZE
Harriet Dart, GBR
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
Greet Minnen, BEL
=VETERANS=
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Elise Mertens, BEL
Elina Svitolina, UKR
=FRESH FACES=
Oleksandra Oliynykova, UKR
Himeno Sakatsume, JPN
=COMEBACK=
Bianca Andreescu, CAN
=DOWN=
AUS
Iva Jovic, USA
POL
USA
=DOUBLES=
Bencic/Golubic, SUI
Burrage/Dart, GBR
Danilina/Kulambayeva, KAZ
Errani/Paolini, ITA
Kichenok/Kichenok, UKR
McNally/Melichar-Martinez, USA
=MOST IMPROVED=
Kaitlin Quevedo, ESP
=CAPTAINS=
Anne Keothavong, GBR
Barbora Strycova, CZE
Wim Fissette, BEL
Tathiana Garbin, ITA
Carla Suarez Navarro, ESP
Heinz Gunthardt, SUI (L)
Yuriy Schukin, KAZ
Illya Marchenko, UKR

**BACKSPIN 2026 BJK ZONE PLAY AWARDS**
=MVPs=
Anna Bondar, HUN
Patcharin "Eve" Cheapchandej, THA
Leolia Jeanjean, FRA
Nana Silva, BRA (Overall MVP)
Despina Papamichail, GRE
Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, SWE
Julia Riera, ARG
Janice Tjen, INA
Elizara Yaneva, BUL

=RISERS=
Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
Noma Noha Akugue, GER
=SURPRISES=
Gabriela Ce, BRA
Anouk Koevermans, NED
Thasaporn Naklo, THA
SWE
Amarissa Toth, HUN
=FRESH FACES=
BRA
Rositsa Dencheva, BUL
Priska Madelyn Nugroho, INA
Mia Pohankova, SVK
Sarah Rakotomanga, FRA
=COMEBACK=
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
Maria Sakkari, GRE
=DOWN=
Emiliana Arango, COL
SRB
=DOUBLES=
Hennemann/Zaar, SWE
Barros/Silva, BRA
Sutjiadi/Tjen, INA
=JUNIOR=
Victoria Luiza Barros, BRA
Nana Silva, BRA
=MOST IMPROVED=
Amarissa Toth, HUN
=CAPTAINS=
Luiz Peniza, BRA(II)
Alize Cornet, FRA(II)
Johanna Larsson, SWE(II)
Paola Suarez, ARG(II)
Kornel Bardoczky, HUN(II)
Christopher Rungkat, INA(II)
Pracharapol Khamsaman, THA (II)
Maggie Maleeva, BUL (III)
Vasilis Mazarakis, GRE (III)




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‘South Park’ remains undefeated 😂 variety.com/2026/tv/news...

[image or embed]

— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) September 8, 2026 at 3:16 PM


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TOP QUALIFIER: Lucie Havlickova, CZE
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #7 Karolina Muchova/CZE (follows up MX title w/ 4 games lost 1r/2r)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: #31 Andrea Lazaro Garcia/ESP def. Mai Hontama/JPN 5-7/7-6(6)/6-1 - saved 7 MP, four at 5-4 in 2nd set and three more at triple MP at 6-3 in TB
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - Cristina Bucsa/ESP def. (Q) Himeno Sakatsume/JPN 7-6(6)/6-7(0)/7-6(10-6) - three tie-breaks; Bucsa served 5-4 w/ 2 MP in 3rd, then again at 6-5
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Jasmine Paolini/ITA (def. Veronika Erjavec/SLO)
FIRST SEED OUT: #27 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE (1r- lost to Kamila Rakhimova/UZB)
FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS: Polina Iatcenko/RUS (1st MD), Himeno Sakatsume/JPN (2nd), Lilli Tagger/AUT (2nd)
PROTECTED RANKING MD WINS: Nadia Podoroska/ARG, Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA (both 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER MD WINS: D.Semenistaja/LAT (1r-L)
UPSET QUEENS: Spain
REVELATION LADIES: Great Britain
NATION OF POOR SOULS: SUI (0-3 1st Rd.; #12 Bencic hightest seed out; Teichmann w/d)
CRASH & BURN: Madison Keys/USA (3r- blew 5-0 lead in 3rd set vs. Zheng/CHN, had a MP)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Madison Keys/USA (2r- saved 5 MP vs. Bondar/HUN; Bondar 2 MP at 5-2 in 3rd, 3 more at 5-3, then served for again at 5-4; Bondar led 5-3 in MTB, Keys won last 7 points)
IT ("?"): x
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Zheng Qinwen/CHN (in QF)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Leolia Jeanjean/FRA, Sofia Kenin/USA, Taylah Preston/AUS, Sloane Stephens/USA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: in QF: Gauff, Navarro(L), Pegula(W)
COMEBACK: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Iva Jovic/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: Naomi Osaka (and the nominee for "Best Costume Design" is...)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Kenin d. V.Williams in 2:02 a.m. finish (latest 1r); Jovic/Eala NextGen dual on Ashe
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
BIG CITY ROLLER: x







All for Day 10. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:57 PM 

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