Czechia’s Linda Noskova was not to be underestimated, but Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a three-peat in Flushing is still on. 

The U.S. Open’s defending back-to-back champion and No. 1 seed survived a too-close-for-comfort quarterfinal clash with Noskova on Tuesday, emerging victorious from two tiebreaks to win 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (7) inside a partially sun-drenched Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

“I’m just super happy that I put myself in the position where I have a chance to go for a three-peat, even though I’m still far away from that,” Sabalenka said in her post-match news conference. “What I learned from [falling short of three in a row at the Australian Open in 2025] is it’s really important to shut down all of the noises. 

“Having that in the back of your mind, there’s nothing wrong about that, as long as you’re focusing on yourself. As long as you’re ready to fight, basically.” 

Playing to her reputation as a tiebreak savant, Sabalenka has won 22 straight Grand Slam tiebreaks. 

The Belarusian surpassed Novak Djokovic’s mark of 19 to set an Open Era record in January. 

She is now the sixth player in the Open Era to reach at least six consecutive women’s singles semifinals in the U.S. Open, joining Chris Evert (16), Steffi Graf (7), Martina Hingis (6), Venus Williams (6) and Serena Williams (6). 

Only Hingis (12) has more consecutive hard-court Grand Slam semifinals in history than Sabalenka, who moved into a three-way tie with Graf and Evert at nine. 

This will also mark Sabalenka’s 15th career Grand Slam semifinal, all occurring within her past 18 appearances. 

Sabalenka will face the winner of the all-American clash between Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro. 

Tuesday afternoon was the first time Sabalenka was truly challenged since the start of the tournament. 

Sabalenka, who didn’t have a single match surpass an hour and a half until this point, looked primed for another easy day after jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the first set. A three-game run from Noskova, however, forced a tiebreak and previewed just how close the match would ultimately be. 

“What a battle. What an incredible player she is,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “I’m speechless right now because I was pushing myself to the limit. In the third set, I honestly thought, ‘That’s it, the match is over.’ Probably that’s what helped me to kind of feel loose and just go after my shots. Super happy to get this win. It’s a tough match. Tough battle.” 

There was hardly any pushback from Noskova in the tiebreak, but the No. 6 seed found her groove in the second set. 

Noskova, who won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year, kept pace with Sabalenka through the first four games before notching the first break to go up 4-2. Generating a 12-3 run to take a stranglehold on the set, the 21-year-old made forcing a deciding set against the world No. 1 look straightforward. 

While Sabalenka fought back from down 4-2 in the final set, a 10-point tiebreak was still required to decide who would advance to the semifinals. As one of the most dominant tiebreak players in the game, Sabalenka separated herself to survive and advance. 

Blasting a 97 mph second-serve ace to win the set, the 28-year-old let out a primal scream to celebrate. 

The last time any man or woman won three U.S. Open titles in a row was from 2012 to 2014, when Serena Williams did it during the second peak of her storied career. Roger Federer also accomplished the feat when he won five consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008. 

“I have to say that knowing that physically my body can handle these matches again, I’m super happy with that,” Sabalenka said. “And, of course, these kind of tight matches gives you so much confidence that you’re back and you’re ready to do anything it takes to get the win. So this match definitely gives me a boost of energy and motivation.”