Elena Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court victory of 2025
Elena Rybakina won the biggest prize in women's tennis history by defeating world number one Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old produced a impressive performance to beat four-time Grand Slam champion her opponent in two sets in the host country.
Since each competitor came through the competition without a loss, the prize money on offer was a record-breaking £3.98 million – the largest payout offering in WTA the sport's history.
The prize money tops the £3.74 million Sabalenka received for claiming the New York major, which was the most lucrative Grand Slam in 2025.
"It's been an fantastic tournament," commented Rybakina.
"Truly couldn't have predicted any result so to reach the final was just unbelievable."
"I want to say praise to Sabalenka for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an tremendous achievement."
Rybakina, who was the world number six, delivered 16 winners during a commanding opening set display.
Rybakina fended off two chances 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.
As the second set progressed, the world number one saved another two opportunities at four-all to swing the momentum in her favor.
But, after fighting back to disrupt 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.
Her inability to force a decider impacted her tie-break performance, with the Kazakh winning every point to take home the title.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will move up one place in the rankings to number five in the world.
An emotional Sabalenka was seen crying as she sat with her team shortly after the final.
"That was not the best display from me in this match but Rybakina you were definitely the superior player," Sabalenka told the crowd.
"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this stunning trophy."
