Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Win Historic £4 Million Payout

Elena Rybakina secured the largest payday in WTA history by overcoming top-ranked Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals.

The 26-year-old delivered a stunning performance to beat four-time major champion Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.

Because both players advanced through the event undefeated, the reward on offer was a record-breaking almost £4 million – the highest payout offering in women's tennis history.

This amount tops the £3.74 million Sabalenka earned for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in 2025.

"This has been an fantastic week," commented Rybakina.

"I honestly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to go so far was just remarkable."

"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year running, it's an incredible accomplishment."

Rybakina, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winning shots during a dominant first-set performance.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved a couple of chances before taking every point 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, Sabalenka defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favor.

But, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, Sabalenka failed to capitalize by squandering two chances in the next game to level the second set at five-all.

Her inability to force a decider affected her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh winning every point to take home the title.

This win, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will rise one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.

An emotional the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her coaching team shortly after the match.

"It was not the finest display from me in this match but Elena you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian told the audience.

"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."