Rybakina’s ascension to the top of the rankings – the first Kazakhstani man or woman to do so – will rightly dominate the headlines.
She has achieved one of her two goals for the tournament and is now just two wins away from a second major title of the season, having won the Australian Open in January.
However, beaten opponent Zheng’s achievements should not go unnoticed, offering a welcome reminder of her talent with an entertaining run to the last eight.
Having dropped out of the top 100 following elbow surgery in July 2025, the reigning Olympic champion navigated three qualifying rounds before registering her first Grand Slam main-draw win since last year’s French Open.
She later stunned 22nd seed Madison Keys, who she trailed 5-0 in the third set and saved match point, and eighth seed Iga Swiatek to reach her third quarter-final in New York.
Ranked 121st heading into the tournament, she is now up to 52nd in the live rankings and has just 65 points to defend for the remainder of the season.
But for all the positives, there is an unshakable sense of what might have been against Rybakina.
Momentum was with the 23-year-old after she broke late in the first set before staving off five break points to take a 1-0 lead. However, she was completely blown away in the second set, with her second serve coming under considerable pressure.
She earned a break point in the eighth game of the decider but missed a routine backhand pass. In the next game, she brilliantly fought back from 0-40 to deuce but then followed a loose backhand with a double fault as her hopes of a maiden US Open semi-final slipped away.