Elena Rybakina Stuns Sabalenka to Claim Record £4m Payout
Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court win of 2025
Elena Rybakina claimed the largest prize in women's tennis history by beating world number one Sabalenka in two sets at the tournament.
The 26-year-old delivered a stunning performance to defeat four-time major champion Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because both players advanced through the event undefeated, the reward on the table was a record-breaking £3.98 million – the largest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.
The prize money exceeds the £3.74 million the Belarusian received for winning September's New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in 2025.
"It's been an fantastic week," said Rybakina.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to go so far was just remarkable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an incredible achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered sixteen winners during a dominant opening set display.
Rybakina saved two chances before taking every point in the sixth game to go a break up and served out to win the first set.
As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended another two opportunities at four-all to swing the momentum in her favour.
But, having worked so hard to upset her opponent's flow, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by squandering two set points in the following game to level the second set at five-all.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tie-break performance, with the Kazakh winning every point to take home the championship.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one spot in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
An emotional Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she met with her team soon after the match.
"It was not the best display from me in this match but Rybakina you were definitely the superior player," the Belarusian addressed the crowd.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Celebrate this beautiful title."