Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Secure Historic £4m Prize
Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court win of 2025
Rybakina claimed the greatest reward in women's tennis history by defeating world number one Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old produced a stunning performance to defeat four-times Grand Slam champion her opponent in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because each competitor advanced through the competition undefeated, the reward on offer was a historic almost £4 million – the largest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.
This amount tops the £3.74 million the Belarusian earned for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in the current year.
"It's been an incredible tournament," said the Kazakh player.
"Truly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an outstanding achievement."
Rybakina, who was the world number six, delivered sixteen winning shots during a dominant opening set display.
Rybakina fended off two chances before taking all four points in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to win the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one defended 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 failed to capitalize by wasting a pair of set points in the next game to level the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to level the match affected her tiebreak play, with Rybakina winning all seven points to take home the championship.
This win, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means she will rise one spot in the rankings to number five in the world.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she met with her coaching team soon after the match.
"It was not the finest display from me in this match but Elena you were definitely the superior competitor," the Belarusian addressed the audience.
"You literally overpowered me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this stunning title."
