Elena Rybakina Defeats Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4 Million Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard court victory of 2025
Elena Rybakina won the biggest payday in WTA history by beating world number one Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.
Rybakina produced a stunning performance to overcome four-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because each competitor advanced through the event without a loss, the reward on the table was a unprecedented £3.98 million – the biggest prize awarded in WTA history.
This amount surpasses the £3.74m the Belarusian won for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in 2025.
"This has been an amazing tournament," stated the Kazakh player.
"Truly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second year running, it's an tremendous achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, hit 16 winning shots during a dominant first-set performance.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off two chances before winning all four points in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to win the opening set.
As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favor.
However, after fighting back to upset Rybakina's rhythm, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by wasting a pair of set points in the next game to level the second set at five-all.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tie-break performance, with Rybakina winning every point to take home the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
An emotional Sabalenka was seen crying as she met with her coaching team soon after the final.
"That was not the finest display from me today but Elena you were certainly the superior competitor," Sabalenka told the crowd.
"You really overpowered me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Celebrate this stunning title."
