Elena Rybakina Defeats Sabalenka to Secure Record £4m Payout
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard court victory of 2025
Elena Rybakina secured the greatest reward in women's tennis history by defeating top-ranked Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals.
Rybakina produced a impressive display to beat four-times Grand Slam champion her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Because both players advanced through the event without a loss, the reward on offer was a record-breaking £3.98m – the highest prize awarded in women's tennis the sport's history.
This amount exceeds the £3.74 million the Belarusian earned for claiming September's New York major, which was the highest-paying major tournament in the current year.
"It's been an incredible week," said the Kazakh player.
"I honestly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just remarkable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year running, it's an outstanding achievement."
Rybakina, who was the world number six, delivered sixteen winners during a dominant first-set display.
Rybakina fended off two chances before winning all four points in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to secure the first set.
As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended another two break points at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
However, after fighting back to upset Rybakina's rhythm, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of set points in the following game to tie the set at five-all.
Her inability to force a decider impacted her tie-break play, with Rybakina taking every point to take home the title.
The victory, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will move up one place in the WTA rankings to number five in the world rankings.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she met with her team soon after the final.
"That was not the finest performance from me in this match but Rybakina you were certainly the better competitor," the Belarusian told the audience.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this stunning title."
