Former Wimbledon champion wins 6-3, 7-6 (0)
Unbeaten Rybakina takes home £3.98m
Elena Rybakina re-established herself as one of the significant players in women’s tennis as she closed out a week of spectacular, devastating performances against the best players in the world by completely overpowering Aryna Sabalenka, the No 1, to capture one of the biggest titles of her career at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a 6-3, 7-6 (0) win.
Having finished the season-ending tournament unbeaten in her five matches, Rybakina is now $5.235m (£3.98m) richer, earning the greatest prize money haul in the history of women’s sports. The victory marks the 26-year-old’s fourth big title after her wins at Wimbledon in 2022, and Indian Wells and the Italian Open a year later. This is her third title of the season and her 11th title on the WTA Tour overall.
Until a few weeks ago, 2025 had been a disappointing year for the Russian-born Kazakhstani, whose presence in Riyadh was far from certain. She qualified for the tournament with a brilliant late run of form and she has followed it up with some of the best performances of her career, winning her last 11 matches in the process.
