Elena Rybakina Stuns Sabalenka to Win Record £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court win of 2025
Elena Rybakina secured the biggest reward in women's tennis all time by overcoming top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old delivered a brilliant performance to defeat four-time major winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.
Because both players advanced through the event without a loss, the purse on offer was a record-breaking £3.98m – the biggest payout awarded in WTA the sport's history.
The prize money exceeds the £3.74 million the Belarusian won for claiming September's New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in 2025.
"This has been an incredible week," commented the Kazakh player.
"I honestly didn't expect any result so to go so far was just unbelievable."
"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second year running, it's an incredible accomplishment."
The champion, who was the world number six, hit 16 winning shots during a dominant opening set display.
Rybakina saved two break points before winning all four points in the sixth game of the set to take the break and served out to secure the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved another two opportunities at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favour.
However, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, Sabalenka failed to capitalize by squandering a pair of set points in the next game to tie the second set at 5-5.
Her inability to level the match affected her tie-break performance, with Rybakina taking every point to win the championship.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will move up one spot in the rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
An emotional the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team shortly after the match.
"It was not the best display from me in this match but Elena you were certainly the superior competitor," Sabalenka told the crowd.
"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Celebrate this beautiful title."
