Elena Rybakina Upsets Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4m Reward
Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court win of the year
Elena Rybakina won the greatest payday in WTA history by overcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the WTA Finals.
Rybakina delivered a stunning display to overcome four-time major champion Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Since both players advanced through the tournament undefeated, the prize money on offer was a record-breaking £3.98 million – the largest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.
This amount surpasses the £3.74 million the Belarusian received for claiming September's US Open, which was the highest-paying major tournament in 2025.
"This has been an amazing week," commented Rybakina.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to reach the final was just unbelievable."
"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an incredible accomplishment."
The champion, who was the world number six, hit 16 winning shots during a impressive first-set performance.
Rybakina fended off a couple of break points before winning all four points in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and held her serve to seal the opening set.
With the second set on serve, Sabalenka defended two break points at four-all to swing the momentum in her favour.
But, after fighting back to upset her opponent's flow, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering two chances in the following game to tie the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider affected her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh winning all seven points to win the championship.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will move up one spot in the WTA rankings to number five in the world.
An emotional the runner-up was seen crying as she sat with her team soon after the match.
"It was not the finest display from me today but Elena you were definitely the better competitor," the Belarusian told the crowd.
"You literally smashed me on court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful title."
