US Open: Navarro dethrones Gauff, Sabalenka enters 4th straight QF
Navarro, who has now achieved three wins over Top 10 opponents in 2024—including Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells and Gauff at Wimbledon—will face the rejuvenated Paula Badosa, the No. 26 seed, in the quarterfinals. Badosa secured her spot with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over world No. 80 Wang Yafan and has become the fourth Spanish woman to reach the US Open quarterfinals in the Open Era, joining Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Conchita Martinez, and Carla Suarez Navarro.
In other action, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka fired 41 winners to defeat No. 33 seed Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4 in 97 minutes, advancing to the US Open quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year. In her seventh US Open appearance, Sabalenka improved her Flushing Meadows record to 25-6. She will play the winner of the Paris Olympics final rematch between No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen of China and No. 24 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia in the quarterfinals.
Sabalenka is the first player to reach four straight US Open quarterfinals since Serena Williams achieved the feat from 2011 to 2016. She aims to become the first female player to win both the Australian Open and US Open in the same year since Angelique Kerber did so in 2016.
