Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Elena Rybakina Preview & Prediction | 2026 US Open | Third Round

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Elena Rybakina continues her US Open campaign against Yuliia Starodubtseva. 

Start date/time: 5 September 2026 at 4:00 pm

Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York, USA

Surface: Outdoor hard

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports Tennis / USA – ESPN

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – ESPN+

Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Elena Rybakina ticket information

Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Elena Rybakina prediction

Yuliia Starodubtseva produced a remarkable comeback in the second-round, recovering to defeat Maria Sakkari in three sets. The Ukrainian appeared to be heading out after a one-sided opening set and later had to save three match points before forcing a second set tiebreak. From there, the momentum swung in favour of Starodubtseva and she controlled the decider to win 1-6 7-6 (4) 6-2. She is through to the third-round of the event for the first time in her career. Starodubtseva had easily beaten Ella Seidel in the opening stage.

She now goes up against world number two Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh continued her efficient progress with a comfortable win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. The second seed dominated the opening set in just 30 minutes and quickly established a lead in set two as she won 6-2 6-4. Rybakina will become the world number one if she progresses to the semi-finals.

Starodubtseva does lead the head-to-head 1-0 after a surprise win over Rybakina at Roland Garros this year, but the quicker New York conditions should play far more into the 27-year-old’s hands on this occasion. 

Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Elena Rybakina tip: Over 17.5 games