NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will finish the Grand Slam season the way it started.
The top two women in the world rankings meet Saturday in the U.S. Open final, where Sabalenka will try to become the first player to win three in a row since Serena Williams from 2012-14.
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Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, returns the ball to Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, follows through on a shot to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, gestures after she won her match against Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves the ball to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Even if she does, Rybakina will pass her on Monday and become No. 1 in the WTA rankings. Sabalenka has held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks, but Rybakina gained enough points to unseat her by reaching the semifinals in Flushing Meadows.
Rybakina got a start on cutting into the deficit by beating Sabalenka in the Australian Open final. The rematch Saturday makes this just the second time since the Australian Open became a hard-court event in 1988 that the same women will play in the finals of both tournaments. Stefanie Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario did it in 1994.
Rybakina also has won a Wimbledon title and is playing for her first U.S. Open trophy. To get it, she has to stop Sabalenka's 19-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows, where she hasn't lost since Coco Gauff beat her in the 2023 final.
Sabalenka won the two other meetings this season — both on hard courts — in Indian Wells and Miami. She leads their rivalry 10-7.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, returns the ball to Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, follows through on a shot to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, gestures after she won her match against Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves the ball to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s government raced Saturday to contain the fallout after Iran -backed militias were accused of attacking a key Saudi oil pipeline, shutting down the top global oil producer's alternative to the Iranian-threatened Strait of Hormuz.
Though an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias in Iraq denied their involvement, Iraq's government confirmed the attacks had originated from its territory, pledged to investigate and dismissed two senior officials.
The attack on the East-West pipeline came as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen put further pressure on neighboring Saudi Arabia and its shipping, reaching the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which around 12% of global trade passes.
Regional officials have told The Associated Press that the Houthis and the Iraqi militias recently coordinated attacks on Saudi oil facilities, which led Saudi Arabia and the United States to bomb Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in July.
As the latest events threaten even higher global oil prices after six months of war, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was “probably” responsible for the pipeline attack, but tried to calm concerns.
“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump said. “They would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through.” He said his administration has had "discussions” with the Houthis, but the White House didn't say when. His administration engaged in at least one round of talks in May 2025.
“We are not in war with Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have their own problems," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told India Today TV on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in India.
Saudi Arabia shut down the cross-country oil pipeline on Friday as a “precautionary measure” after it came under drone attack the day before. It said several drones came from Iraq but the kingdom would not retaliate, to give the Iraqi government “an opportunity to take the necessary measures.”
The group of Iran-backed militias in Iraq denied they were responsible, while praising the Houthis for their “ongoing battlefield victories against Saudi forces.” The statement said they would cooperate with the Iraqi government’s investigation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said he had ordered the investigation into the operations command of Maysan province, along the border with Iran, and dismissed the province’s commander. His office later said the provincial police chief also was dismissed.
Iraq, under mounting pressure, had earlier set a Sept. 30 deadline for non-state groups to disarm, but several of the most powerful militias have said they will not comply, including the Iran-backed ones. Iran-backed Iraqi militias have struck U.S.-linked targets inside and outside Iraq since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
Meanwhile, in a decision possibly linked to the investigation, Iraq closed two key border crossings with Iran, Iraq’s state-run news agency reported. Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor of Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, said Shalamcheh and Chazabeh crossings were closed.
Several regional countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey condemned the pipeline attack.
By early June, Saudi Arabia had more than doubled oil exports from the Red Sea port at the East-West pipeline’s end to more than 5 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.
The pipeline's closure means Saudi Arabia can't send out its oil via the Suez Canal to the north, which had become an increasingly popular option with Iran threatening the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis now positioned at the Bab el-Mandeb.
While the Houthis have said they are only targeting Saudi shipping after their swift advance down Yemen's Red Sea coast to the strait, markets remain wary.
“There’s actually not necessarily all that much that the Houthis need to actually do. Having the threat there is very powerful because you get insurance companies becoming nervous about putting ships through that area,” said Sarah Phillips, a fellow with the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies.
Iran has said a regional meeting is planned Monday between the foreign ministers of Iran and other Gulf countries about talks between Tehran and Oman — located on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz — on managing shipping there.
Commercial ship traffic remains low on what had been considered an international waterway before the war. Iran has expressed interest in having ships pay fees for transit. It has said traffic into the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman would pass entirely through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s territorial waters.
“The waterway would be opened up on the condition that the U.S. will terminate its blockade,” Iran's president said in his interview with the Indian broadcaster. The U.S. military on Saturday said its forces had redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days.
Bahrain, however, said it will not attend any group meeting including Iran before the restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries.
Anna reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Darlene Superville in Dublin and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin/Pool Photo via AP)
Yemeni civilians celebrate while riding in the back of a pickup truck in the Bani Matar district, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, as they follow a convoy carrying Houthi prisoners freed in Mokha on its way to Sanaa following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
Houthi prisoners wave from vehicles as they travel through the Bani Matar district on their way to Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, after being freed in Mokha following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
Houthi prisoners freed in Mokha wave as they arrive in the Bani Matar district on their way to Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
Houthi fighters escort a convoy carrying prisoners freed in Mokha through the Bani Matar district on its way to Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
This image taken from undated video released by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, shows damaged vehicles on a road between the Dhubab and Amri junctions in Yemen, according to the channel. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)
This image taken from undated video released by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, shows damaged vehicles on a road between the Dhubab and Amri junctions in Yemen, according to the channel. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)
This image taken from undated video released by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, shows Houthi fighters chanting and raising rifles atop a military vehicle in Dhubab district, Taiz province, Yemen, according to the channel. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)
Yemen's Houthi rebels chat as they check their weapons during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Yemen's Houthi rebels march during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
