The perfect ending: Rybakina tops Sabalenka to win WTA Finals crown

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- For 10 months, Aryna Sabalenka was the constant of women’s tennis, unbothered by rankings, surfaces or pressure. In Riyadh, in the match meant to affirm her season, that steadiness finally met its match.

The last player to qualify became the last one standing. Elena Rybakina stretched her win streak to 11 straight on Saturday night, defeating the World No. 1 6–3, 7–6 (0) to capture the WTA Finals title.

With both finalists unbeaten in group play, Rybakina earned $5.235 million for the victory, while Sabalenka took home $2.695 million as runner-up. Even in defeat, Sabalenka’s total set a new WTA single-season prize-money record, surpassing Serena Williams’ 2013 mark.

Rybakina’s victory capped a three-title season that included Strasbourg and Ningbo and made her the 10th consecutive first-time WTA Finals champion. She finished second on tour for titles behind only Sabalenka (four) and tied Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula with three. Rybakina ended the year 58–19, her strongest to date. The win also narrowed her rivalry with Sabalenka to 8–6, with three of those victories now coming in finals -- Indian Wells 2023, Brisbane 2024 and Riyadh 2025.

The victory also tied Rybakina to several notable WTA Finals benchmarks:

No. 6 seed success: The fourth No. 6 seed in the past seven editions to win the title, following Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina and Garbiñe Muguruza.

Historic first: The first player representing Kazakhstan -- and any Asian nation -- to win the WTA Finals.

Back-to-back wins over No. 1s: Just the second player after Tracy Austin (1979–80) to defeat the World No. 1 in consecutive WTA Finals appearances.

Winning record vs. No. 1s: Now 8–6 all time against top-ranked players, one of only three women since 1975 with a winning record vs. the No. 1 (minimum 10 matches), along with Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.

Tiebreak perfection: The 7–6 (0) finish was only the second love tiebreak win of her career (first in Rome 2022).

The opening set was a heavy-hitting tug-of-war, both players landing big first serves until Rybakina found her range midway through. She broke Sabalenka at love to go up 4–2, sealing the game when the World No. 1 netted an overhead. Serving for the set at 5–3, Rybakina stayed composed and capitalized on two errors to close it out 6–3.

In the second, Sabalenka saved two break points in the third game and two more at 4–4 to stay even. But her resistance faded in the tiebreak, a situation that had been her strength all year. Sabalenka came in with a 22–2 record in breakers, including a run of 19 straight that ended in Wuhan. This time, though, she didn’t win a single point, as Rybakina ran away with it to seal the title in straight sets.

Sabalenka closes 2025 with four titles and 63 match-wins, including the US Open and two WTA 1000 trophies, and will end as the year-end No. 1 for a second straight season -- one of only seven women to hold the top spot across consecutive calendar years. She also finished with 15 Top 10 victories, the most of any player this season. Rybakina will finish at a career-high No. 5.

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