By admin 
The crowd for Thursday night’s US Open semifinal between Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina went viral for the wrong reasons.
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Rybakina, the new world No. 1 on the WTA Tour, punched her ticket to the US Open final with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Gauff. Although her victory was worthy of an applause, the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium gave her the silent treatment.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the fans were legit yelling as Gauff was trying to hit an overhead on match point. It was just a brutal stretch from the crowd in New York.
“Watching end of Rybakina win over Graff, I’m embarrassed by NY fans,” one person said. “When Coco lost final point, the so-called fans got right up & walked out with limited cheers for Elena, who played fabulous. They all need a class in sportsmanship (despite all their money).”
“Rybakina not getting any applause after the match is pretty pathetic. I get that the crowd was all for Coco, but come on,” one fan commented.
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“A New York crowd is allowed to want Coco. That’s why they showed up. Rybakina still won the match. A few seconds of applause after the last point isn’t asking the fans to switch sides it’s just acknowledging who actually closed it out,” a second fan added.
“DISGRACEFUL, SHAMEFUL, DISRESPECTFUL CROWD,” another fan wrote.
Taking the high road.
Following her win over Gauff on Thursday night, Rybakina was asked about Arthur Ashe Stadium clearing out quickly after she eliminated Gauff.
“Of course a lot of people today wanted Coco to win. It’s normal. In the beginning I felt like it was a very nice atmosphere,” Rybakina said. “Only in the end when I was up in the third set the crowd really supported a lot Coco. But I tried to focus on myself. Tried to not listen. I feel like for me it was also first match on Ashe at night. I enjoyed the atmosphere even if the crowd was mostly for Coco.”
Next up for Rybakina is a showdown with Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning US Open champion. The final will be played this Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 5:53 AM.