Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Win Historic £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina sealed her 45th hard court victory of 2025
Rybakina claimed the greatest payday in women's tennis history by beating world number one Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
The 26-year-old delivered a stunning performance to overcome four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Because both players came through the competition without a loss, the purse on the table was a historic £3.98 million – the biggest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.
The prize money exceeds the £3.74 million the Belarusian received for winning the US Open, which was the most lucrative Grand Slam in 2025.
"This has been an fantastic tournament," said Rybakina.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to go so far was just remarkable."
"Let me offer praise to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year in a row, it's an tremendous accomplishment."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, hit 16 winners during a commanding first-set performance.
Rybakina fended off a couple of break points before taking every point in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to seal the opening set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved two break points at four-all to shift the balance in her favor.
However, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by squandering a pair of chances in the next game to level the set at 5-5.
Her inability to level the match affected her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh taking every point to claim the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means she will move up one place in the rankings to number five in the world rankings.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she met with her coaching team shortly after the match.
"That was not the finest performance from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the superior player," the Belarusian addressed the audience.
"You really overpowered me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Enjoy this stunning title."
