New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- Elena Rybakina became the new world No. 1. The second seed recovered from a lost first set to beat qualifier Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, reaching her first Flushing Meadows semifinal and locking in the top ranking. She ended Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week stay at the top.

A week ago she was not even sure her left ankle would last a Grand Slam. The ranking was not a surprise on paper. Getting to New York in one piece was.

"It was not ideal, and I was stressed, of course," Rybakina said of those first practices. "The first days when I came onsite, when we had to test the foot and everything, so it wasn't easy."

Her team thought she could get through. Four m...