Elena Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4m Prize
Rybakina secured her forty-fifth hard-court win of 2025
Elena Rybakina secured the biggest payday in WTA all time by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
Rybakina produced a stunning display to beat four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Because both players advanced through the tournament undefeated, the prize money on offer was a record-breaking £3.98m – the biggest payout offering in WTA history.
This amount exceeds the £3.74m the Belarusian received for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying major tournament in 2025.
"This has been an amazing tournament," commented the Kazakh player.
"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 running, it's an incredible accomplishment."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, hit 16 winning shots during a dominant opening set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off two break points before taking every point in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and held her serve to secure the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one defended another two break points at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favor.
But, having worked so hard to upset her opponent's flow, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of chances in the following game to tie the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tiebreak play, with Rybakina taking every point to win the title.
This win, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will rise one spot in the WTA rankings to number five in the world.
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 best display from me today but Elena you were definitely the superior competitor," the Belarusian addressed the crowd.
"You literally overpowered me on court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this stunning title."
