Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Secure Record £4 Million Payout
Rybakina secured her forty-fifth hard court win of 2025
Elena Rybakina secured the biggest prize in WTA history by defeating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the tournament.
Rybakina delivered a impressive performance to defeat four-times Grand Slam winner Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Since both players advanced through the tournament without a loss, the prize money on offer was a historic £3.98m – the largest prize awarded in women's tennis the sport's history.
This amount tops the £3.74m Sabalenka received for claiming September's New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in 2025.
"It's been an fantastic week," said Rybakina.
"I honestly didn't expect this outcome so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say praise to Sabalenka for holding the top spot for a second year in a row, it's an incredible achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered 16 winning shots during a dominant opening set display.
Rybakina fended off two break points before taking every point in the sixth game to go a break up and served out to win the opening set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved another two opportunities at four-all to swing the momentum in her favor.
But, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by squandering a pair of set points in the following game to level the set at 5-5.
Her inability to level the match impacted her tiebreak play, with Rybakina winning all seven points to claim the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team soon after the match.
"That was not the finest performance from me in this match but Rybakina you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian told the crowd.
"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Celebrate this stunning title."