Aryna Sabalenka was put through her paces by Taylor Townsend at the US Open but stood form to reach her sixth successive quarter-final at the event.

There were 10 breaks of serve throughout a back-and-forth contest at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where American Townsend had the backing of a supportive crowd. 

Five of those came in the opening five games of the match, and it was Sabalenka who got three of those to take control of the opener.

After Sabalenka registered a fourth straight break, Townsend recovered one of her own to force the Belarusian to serve out the set at the second attempt, which she did after seeing off a break point.

It was Townsend who struck first in the second set, breaking to go 3-1 up, but Sabalenka finished the match immaculately, only dropping five points in the final five games to seal a 6-4 6-3 victory. 

"What an incredible player she is, approaching the net, a great returner, moving well, very brave," Sabalenka said of Townsend afterwards.

"You can see how focused she was. It was really challenging playing her, especially here. Thank you so much [to the crowd] for being so respectful to me. 

"I knew coming into this match that you guys would be on her side, but you were sometimes cheering for me and I really appreciate that."

6 - Aryna Sabalenka is the first player to reach six consecutive Women’s Singles quarter-finals at the US Open (2021-2026) since Serena Williams (2011-2016). Inexorable.#USOpen | @USOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/sk9emMmBtT

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 6, 2026

Sabalenka matches Serena's quarter-final feat

Sabalenka will face either Marta Kostyuk or Linda Noskova in the quarter-finals, which will be her sixth consecutive appearance at that stage of the year's final grand slam.

She is the first player to reach the last eight at six straight editions since Serena Williams between 2011 and 2016, while she is now just three victories from matching Williams' feat of three straight titles at Flushing Meadows, between 2012 and 2014.

Sabalenka's winning run at the US Open – which dates back to the 2023 final – now stands at 18 matches, while she has 30 straight-sets victories at the event overall, equalling the Australian Open for her most at any WTA-level tournament.

And since Sabalenka reached her first grand slam quarter-final back in 2021, no player has reached that stage of a major tournament more often than her (now 17).