A minute's silence will be held at the US Open, while the ATP and WTA Tours paid tribute following the death of the Queen.

Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday the UK's longest reigning monarch had passed away peacefully at the age of 96, with members of the Royal Family travelling to Balmoral to be by her side.

The US Open will pay tribute to Her Majesty with a photo montage and moment of silence ahead of the first women's singles semi-final between Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Meanwhile, the ATP and WTA tweeted: "We are saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We are grateful for her contributions to tennis, and our thoughts and condolences are with the British Royal Family."

Billie Jean King also took to social media to share a photo of her meeting the Queen at Wimbledon in 2010, while paying her own tribute to a "respected leader around the world."

The 39-time major winner posted: "For 70 years, her leadership, impact, and influence on the United Kingdom and the entire global community has been immense. I met her in 2010 at Wimbledon, and it was a special moment for me.

"She was the longest reigning British monarch in history, the only woman from the Royal Family to serve in the armed forces, and a respected leader around the world. She earned her place in history, and she will be missed."

Iga Swiatek may be the world number one and have had a 37-match winning streak this year but says she is surprised to reach this week's US Open semi-finals.

Swiatek qualified for her third grand slam semi-final for the season with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory over American eighth seed Jessica Pegula in one hour and 53 minutes on Wednesday.

The 2022 French Open champion and 2022 Australian Open semi-finalist became the first women's top seed to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2016.

The victory comes after Swiatek's 37-match winning streak was ended in the third round at Wimbledon in June by Alize Cornet, winning four out of seven matches at three tournaments following that as the WTA Tour moved to hard courts in the lead-up to the US Open.

Swiatek expressed her surprise at making the last four during her on-court interview after the match and explained that, following early losses in the lead-up tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto.

"Looking logically at the last tournaments, I just didn't know if this one is going to be possible for me to be consistent and to win so many matches in a row," Swiatek told reporters.

"I feel like I've been playing better and better every week since the start of this swing. So it surprised me because after the losses that I had in Toronto and Cincinnati, I just wasn't expecting to play so well here.

"It gave me actually a lot because I could be kind of an underdog again, not maybe fully, but just not expect from myself that I'm going to win everything right now."

The Pole said her game "clicked" against Pegula, hitting 22 winners compared to the American's 14, winning 43-of-71 points on return.

"I'm pretty proud of it because I feel like I'm playing better and better every match," she said.

"Jessie was a tough opponent today, for sure. Second set was really tight. We both were fighting till the last point. I'm proud of myself that I could be the one to win the last one."

Swiatek will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, while Pegula bows out having reached the quarter-finals at three of the four majors this year.

"I go back and forth, I should be positive," Pegula said. "At the same time I'm like, three quarterfinals. Sorry, but it sucks. It sucks.

"I wish I could have done it here at my home slam, but I guess not. I wish I didn't have to play Iga every quarter-final or Ash Barty, which seem to be the two people that don't really lose that often. So it just sucks.

"I had a great year at the slams. I know there's still some tournaments left. I'm a little deflated right now. I'm not real happy. It just sucks to lose. I just wish it would have been different tonight."

World number one Iga Swiatek has continued her commanding 2022 season with a straight-sets victory over eighth seed Jessica Pegula securing her spot in the US Open semi-finals for the first time.

The Pole, who won this year's French Open and went on a 37-match winning streak until her third-round Wimbledon defeat, triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in one hour and 53 minutes in a match full of breaks.

Swiatek's victory, her 55th of the season, clinched a semi-final date with sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka, who fell in the last four at last year's US Open.

The 21-year-old became the first women's top seed to reach the US Open semi-finals since Serena Williams in 2016, while she is the only previous grand slam winner remaining in the draw.

In a match that was far from a classic, Swiatek fought back from a break down in the first set to take the advantage, before a second frame that included 10 breaks, with the Pole edging home in a tie-break.

Pegula broke Swiatek in the fifth game to lead 3-2 in the first set but the Pole responded emphatically, going on a sequence where she won 14 of 15 points to secure the set.

Swiatek appeared ready to run away with the match when she immediately broke the American in the first game of the second set but that merely set the tone, with both players struggling to hold on serve.

The world number one served twice for the match but faltered, forcing a tie-break which the Pole won, converting her first match poinit.

Data slam: Breaks galore in tense battle

Holding serve proved challenging in a tense match, with 13 games broken out of the 21 played, including 10 of those coming in the second set. Swiatek had broken serve 57 per cent of her return games during the US Open coming in.

Both players also had more unforced errors than winners, with Swiatek's 21 winners ultimately proving the difference in class. It was Swiatek's eighth win over a top-10 opponent in a row in straight sets.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek – 1/3
Pegula – 1/3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Swiatek – 21/32
Pegula – 14/29

BREAK POINTS WON

Swiatek – 7/11
Pegula – 6/10

Aryna Sabalenka credited a greater awareness of what to expect from Karolina Pliskova for her US Open quarter-final victory.

Sabalenka and Pliskova went into Wednesday's match having split their four previous meetings.

Pliskova, though, had the last two, the Czech coming from a set down to beat Sabalenka in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals and also prevailing in the last four in Montreal in 2021.

But Sabalenka turned the tide this time around at Flushing Meadows, a blistering forehand return sealing a 6-1 7-6 (7-4) triumph and a place in a second successive US Open semi-final.

Sabalenka said in her on-court interview: "The last two matches, I don't want to say I didn't respect her and I didn't expect from her a great level, I was thinking ok I'm on the top I have to beat her and today I expect a great level, I expect the long rallies, I expect the tough match and I just tried to stay in this match as long as I can and just tried to make her work for it and should played really well and somehow I was able to handle this level and win this match."

Next up for Sabalenka will be either world number one Iga Swiatek or home hope Jessica Pegula.

And she knows either opponent will present a significant hurdle as Sabalenka seeks to reach a first grand slam final.

"It's a semi-final, it's going to be tough and I'm ready for it, I'm ready for another fight," she added. 

"I think I just have to stay focused on myself and do whatever I can, do my best and be ready for a great battle."

Both Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia have made further history with their advancement to the US Open women's semi-finals on Tuesday.

The Tunisian overcame Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium, before the Frenchwoman swept aside home favourite Coco Gauff 6-3 6-4.

In doing so, both have reached their first last-four appearance at the final grand slam of the year, and set themselves new benchmarks in the process.

Jabeur is the first Arab or African woman in the Open Era to make the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

On the back of reaching the final at Wimbledon earlier this year, she could finish the tournament as the world number two.

Garcia, meanwhile, has reached her first major semi-final without dropping a set along the way.

She has lost just 27 games en route and victory over Gauff extended her winning streak to 13.

In addition, she becomes just the third Frenchwoman to reach the US Open semi-finals in the Open Era, after Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce.

After once being considered one of the top young prospects in all of tennis, Caroline Garcia says she feels like she is finally prepared to handle everything that is required to deliver on the biggest stages.

In her toughest matchup of the tournament so far, the Frenchwoman was emphatic as she comfortably handled rising star Coco Gauff 6-3 6-4 in Tuesday's quarter-final.

Garcia, 28, shot onto the international stage when she was impressive before ultimately losing to Maria Sharapova back in 2011 when she was just 17 years old.

At the time, Andy Murray tweeted that she would be a future world number one, and she appeared to be on that path when she peaked at fourth in the world in 2018, before a couple of rough years had her residing outside of the top 50.

Now in career-best form, Garcia has 31 wins from her past 35 matches, including 13 wins in a row and six straight-sets victories on the trot.

Speaking to the media after her quarter-final triumph, Garcia said the long, winding journey to this point has only given her valuable experience.

"When it was 2011 after the Sharapova match, it was a lot of pressure coming from actually nowhere," she said. "I was 150, 200 in the world, 17 years old. My game was not ready. 

"I was not able to play that consistent, this kind of level. The weeks after I went back trying to play the same level, but it was not possible for me.

"It was tough because people were expecting a lot. But the game, I was not ready for anything like that. It took me some time to come step-by-step to the top.

"End of 2017, 2018 was a great year, a lot of success. Yeah, I made some mistakes. We made some mistakes. I really hope and think we can learn from it.

"Now, it's a new year, trying to learn from every challenge. I think I've grown up a lot with all the challenges on and off court. Off court, it's very important to manage all of it."

Touching on what has clicked in her recent run, Garcia said she has figured out what works for her, which has simplified everything.

"I'm just trying to focus on my game, on what I like to do, and how is the best way for me to play tennis," she said.

"The path is very clear right now, which direction I have to go, under stress, under pressure. I'm just trying to follow this path. That's how we prepare with the team. We try to do the best we can in this direction.

"It was not that clear in the past. It was not that clear. I mean, I've always been very aggressive. I always try to put the pressure on the other one to be on the court.

"But I was younger… and now [I can] accept that it's actually the only way for me. So if I want to do good, I have to go that way. Yeah, now it's way more clear.

"Obviously with a lot of wins, I'm having fun playing. I can see so many things I can still improve, so it's a great challenge for our team."

Garcia will play world number five Ons Jabeur in the semi-final, with Jabeur winning both of their two previous matches since turning professional.

Ons Jabeur believes she can win a major title following her Wimbledon run to the final, having clinched a spot in the US Open semi-final with a straight-sets victory over Ajla Tomljanovic on Tuesday.

The world number five secured her spot in the last four in one hour and 41 minutes, winning 6-4 7-6 (7-4), having trailed 5-3 in the second set.

The win was Jabeur's 43rd this season, trailing only world number one Iga Swiatek, and comes after she lost to Elena Rybakina in July's Wimbledon decider, fueling her belief that she can secure a breakthrough grand slam title.

"I believe in myself after Wimbledon," Jabeur said during her an on-court interview. "I know that I have it in me to win a [major] final. And here I am in the semi-finals."

Jabeur had reached the quarterfinals at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 Wimbledon Championships, with her recent runner-up finish proving a breakthrough.

"I think the fact that I broke that barrier of being in the quarterfinals all the time, that did help with my confidence," she said.

"Knowing that I could make finals in grand slams really helped my game, just trying to build that experience to go into second weeks in grand slams.

"It was very tough coming here, you know, just the hard court season like wasn't that great for me. So I was trying to build more and more confidence on hard courts.

"Wimbledon helped a lot, for sure."

The 28-year-old Tunisian has made history several times, the latest being becoming the first African or Arab woman in the Open Era to reach the US Open semifinals.

On a personal level, she has now also reached the second week in all four major tournaments.

"I’m just trying to do my job here, hopefully I inspire more and more generations from Africa," Jabeur said. "It really means a lot to me."

Ons Jabeur advanced through to her first US Open semi-final after defeating the in-form Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday.

Jabeur, the world number five, became the first woman from Africa to make the last four at Flushing Meadows after a powerful display in the quarter-finals accounted for an opponent who has belatedly started to pose problems at grand slams.

Continuing a strong season of her own, in which she played a first major final at Wimbledon, Jabeur broke twice in the opening set as Tomljanovic failed to fully capitalise on her wayward serving, instead getting in her own way with four double-faults to no aces.

It meant the Tunisian threatened to run away with the match when she secured another break in the first game of the second set, but Tomljanovic fought back in what developed into a back-and-forth struggle, with six breaks of serve split evenly through the first nine games.

Although that theme initially continued in the tie-break, with the first four points all going against the serve, Jabeur finally found some big serves when it mattered most to finish the job.

A semi-final against either Coco Gauff or Caroline Garcia now lies before Jabeur, who had not previously gone beyond the third round in New York.

Data Slam: Jabeur powers through

Jabeur lacked accuracy with her serve – landing 40 per cent of her first serves across the match – but was dominant when she was able to keep it fair, converting nine of her 11 accurate first serves in the opener to illustrate the significant power gap between the two women.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Jabeur – 4/2
Tomljanovic – 1/9

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Jabeur – 29/30
Tomljanovic – 12/24

BREAK POINTS WON

Jabeur – 5/6
Tomljanovic – 4/6

Aryna Sabalenka believes she is ready for the challenge of Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals after losing both of their meetings in 2021, saying she knows what to expect this time around.

Sabalenka defeated Danielle Collins 3-6 6-3 6-2 on Monday, with the world number six coming from a set behind to collect her seventh win from her past eight matches.

With Pliskova getting the better of Sabalenka's Belarusian compatriot Victoria Azarenka 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-2, it sets up the fifth career meeting between the pair, with their head-to-head record split at two wins apiece.

Sabalenka won both meetings in 2018, but after years without a match against each other, Pliskova flipped the script in 2021 with wins in Montreal and at Wimbledon.

Speaking to the media after her fourth round win, Sabalenka said she was caught by surprise at how much Pliskova had improved in the years between their matches, and how that will not be the case this time around.

"To be honest, on those matches, the first matches I won against her, I was an upcoming player," she said. "I was lower in the ranking, I was respecting every top player. I was kind of expecting a great level from them.

"Then, in the last two matches last year, I was in the top. Every time she was making me move, every time she was making winners, I was like, what's going on? How is it possible? Oh, my God, she is making winners.

"I want to say that I wasn't kind of really respecting her. Right now I really expect great level from her. 

"It's going to be tough. Every time she will make some winners, it's not going to be pissing me off, it's going to be like, okay, it's normal, she's making it, what next?"

Meanwhile, Pliskova believes she is playing her best tennis of the season at the moment after advancing to the quarter-finals for the second straight year, having lost to Maria Sakkari at Flushing Meadows in 2021.

She told the media after defeating Azarenka that it may have been her best performance of the year – and maybe even longer.

"I think this was one of the best matches this year, from my side," she said. "I think also from her. I thought the level of the tennis was quite good for all three sets.

"Maybe in the third set, maybe she started to drop it a little bit. Of course, it was understandable because physically it was also quite tough. We had long rallies, long points, long games.

"But quite happy with my level. I think I'm playing quite good tennis now, maybe even better than last year here."

After defeating Julie Niemeier in a less than inspiring showing, Iga Swiatek feels the race for the US Open title is wide open, and any of the women remaining in the quarter-finals can go all the way

In an uncharacteristic opening set from the world number one, Swiatek had her serve broken in the very first game, and conceded another break to drop the frame 6-2.

She fought back in the second as they traded breaks of serve, with only three successful holds from 10 games as Swiatek took it 6-4, before really finding her groove in the third to run away with a 6-0 finish.

It was her 19th 'bagel' set of the season, with only Serena Williams in 2013 (25) posting more 6-0 sets in a single year since 2000.

When asked about that record, Swiatek said she is aware of it, and that she enjoys Twitter memes referring to "Iga Swiatek's Bakery", although she did not wish to discuss any potential records.

Instead, she discussed the work she has been putting in on the hard courts, having never made the US Open quarter-final before this run.

"For sure, hard court is our goal at the beginning of the season, not the end of the season," she said. "Also we're mainly practicing on hard court pre-season. 

"These are the courts that basically are going to show me where my level of tennis is.

"I played too many matches this year to get, like, huge excitement honestly. But for sure today I'm the most excited because the quarter-final is my best result right now. 

"I'm just happy that I did a better job than last year and I'm going to push forward."

Swiatek was complimentary about her next opponent, Jessica Pegula, admitting "she has a game style that suits these courts", but she pointed out how many emerging players are on the tour at the moment and how it may simply come down to who can handle the big moments.

"I guess it's going to show who's going to cope with being in a new situation better," she said.

"But I think it's just exciting for all of us. It also shows that anything can happen, and anybody can win this tournament."

Iga Swiatek survived a major scare as she came from a set and a break down to beat Jule Niemeier and set up a US Open quarter-final with Jessica Pegula.

The world number one looked to be in a real spot of bother against the German ranked 107 places below her, but Niemeier could not maintain her blistering start and Swiatek claimed a 2-6 6-4 6-0 victory.

Swiatek initially looked a shadow of the player who had not lost a set in the first week, with Niemeier's power and unpredictability causing the Pole no end of issues.

Niemeier was immediately a break up and had no problem consolidating before eventually getting another to lead 5-2.

So underwhelming was Swiatek that Niemeier could even afford three double-faults in the final game of the opener as the German impressively took a first-set lead.

After a bathroom break, Swiatek returned with greater purpose but was still lacking ruthlessness; she inexplicably missed a forehand on break point at 1-0 up in the second, and then she stuck a simple volley into the net a few minutes later to find herself a break down.

That was the first of seven breaks in a second set defined by poor serving, but Swiatek was just slightly better than her opponent, with successive breaks giving her the edge in a rollercoaster encounter.

From there, Niemeier barely registered as a threat due to her wastefulness, recording four double-faults and 14 unforced errors to Swiatek's zero and one respectively in the decider as the latter bageled her opponent.

Coco Gauff dispatched Zhang Shuai in straight sets to become the youngest US Open quarter-finalist in 13 years.

The 18-year-old American fan favourite won 7-5 7-5 on Sunday, sealing her place in the last eight.

Gauff's victory makes her the youngest player to have reached the quarters at Flushing Meadows since Melanie Oudin in 2009.

Oudin, another American, was 17 at the time, and lost her last-eight tie to eventual runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.

Caroline Garcia is next up for Gauff, who will face either Ons Jabeur or Ajla Tomljanovic should she overcome the US Open quarter-final debutant.

Australia's Tomljanovic followed up her defeat of Serena Williams with a 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 win over Liudmila Samsonova, snapping the Russian's 13-match winning streak and reaching her second career grand slam quarter-final in the process.

World number five Jabeur, meanwhile, made history by becoming the first North African woman to make the US Open quarter-finals in the Open Era.

She is the third woman from the African continent to do so, with South Africans Maryna Godwin (1968) and Amanda Coetzer (1994, 1996 and 1998) having previously achieved the feat. Jabeur defeated Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.

Fan favourite Coco Gauff said the reception she has received in New York is different to anything she has experienced before after defeating Zhang Shuai 7-5 7-5 on Sunday.

In a closely contested battle, Gauff was just a little too good, winning 52 per cent (91-of-176) of the total points, while creating 11 break point opportunities compared to nine for Zhang.

It continues a terrific run of form for the 18-year-old, who will break into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time when it updates this coming week.

Speaking to the media after advancing to the quarter-finals, Gauff compared the atmosphere inside Arthur Ashe Stadium – where she has played every match this tournament – to an NBA game.

"It's way different [to a normal tennis crowd]," she said. "On the 6-5 changeover, people were saying 'let's go, Coco' – I was literally trying not to smile. 

"I was, like, I've got to stay in the zone. Inside I was trying my hardest not to smile. This is a surreal moment for me – on Arthur Ashe Stadium and people are chanting my game. I feel like I'm at an NBA game.

"That's a special thing about tennis. When you go to a football game or an NBA game, people are chanting the team's name. That's great as a player. 

"For you to have the whole crowd chanting your name specifically is something I won't take for granted."

When asked if the incredible attention she has received this week has been a distraction, she said it only helps her in the heat of the contest.

"I think it depends on the player – for me though, I just feed off of it," she said. "I think it helps me more. 

"I mean, for some players, they prefer a more chill, relaxed environment. For me, if anyone has seen me play, I like to get pumped up. The New York crowd seems to like it too."

A meeting with the in-form Caroline Garcia is scheduled for the quarter-final, and she said it is no secret that she is one of the hottest players on tour right now.

"I think she's playing the best tennis she's played in a long time," she said. "It's going to be a challenge. 

"When you play these players that are hot, I think it's more of a mental challenge. You just gotta accept she's going to hit some great shots, because I know she will.

"I think my mentality has been great. I played I feel like two similar opponents, Maddie Keys, who can hit some unbelievable shots from the wings. Same with Shuai today. She was hitting some great shots. 

"I think I was doing a good job of accepting it, clapping my hands, moving on to the next point. I think I'm going to have to do that for the next match."

Gauff and Garcia have played twice before, with the American winning both matches against the Frenchwoman.

Margaret Court does not believe Serena Williams has ever "admired" her and claims the modern game is significantly easier than it was in her own era.

Williams, widely considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, stepped away from top-level tennis following defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open.

Although her time on tour now looks to be over, the 40-year-old admitted "you never know" when asked about future appearances, but a U-turn is widely considered to be highly improbable.

Williams is bowing out with 23 grand slam singles wins – one fewer than record holder Court.

Court, 80, is a Pentecostal church pastor now and has been criticised in recent years for comments about race, homosexuality and the transgender community.

She was blunt when asked about her feelings on Williams, telling the Telegraph: "Serena, I've admired her as a player. But I don't think she has ever admired me."

Court won her grand slam singles titles between 1960 and 1973, and the Australian believes players in the modern era have it much easier than she did during her remarkable career.

"I would love to have played in this era; I think it's so much easier," she said. "How I would love to have taken family or friends along with me. But I couldn't, I had to go on my own or with the national team.

"People don't see all that. As amateurs, we had to play every week, because we didn't have any money. Now, they can take off whenever they want, fly back whenever they want.

"We would be away for 10 months. That's why I first retired in 1965, because I used to get homesick. You might be with the odd other person, but it's not like having your family there.

"We didn't have psychologists or coaches with us. It's a whole different world. That's what disappoints me; that players today don't honour the past of the game."