Rybakina Upsets Sabalenka to Win Historic £4 Million Payout
Elena Rybakina secured her forty-fifth hard court victory of 2025
Rybakina secured the greatest prize in women's tennis history by defeating world number one Sabalenka in straight sets at the tournament.
The 26-year-old delivered a impressive display to beat four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because both players came through the tournament undefeated, the prize money on offer was a record-breaking almost £4 million – the highest prize offering in women's tennis the sport's history.
The prize money exceeds the £3.74m Sabalenka won for winning September's US Open, which was the most lucrative major tournament in 2025.
"This has been an incredible week," stated the Kazakh player.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say praise to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year in a row, it's an incredible achievement."
The champion, who was the sixth-ranked player, hit sixteen winning shots during a commanding first-set display.
Rybakina fended off a couple of chances before taking all four points in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and served out to secure the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved another two break points at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favour.
But, after fighting back to disrupt Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering two chances in the next game to tie the set at 5-5.
Her inability to level the match impacted her tie-break play, with Rybakina winning every point to win the championship.
This win, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will rise one spot in the rankings to number five in the world.
An emotional the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she met with her team soon after the final.
"It was not the best performance from me in this match but Rybakina you were certainly the superior player," the Belarusian told the audience.
"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful trophy."
