(No. 6) Elena Rybakina def. (No. 1) Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (0)
Elena Rybakina claimed the largest payout in women’s sports on Sunday, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the WTA Finals. Rybakina went undefeated across all five of her matches at the season’s final event, finishing with a 6-3, 7-6(0) win in the championship to lift the Billie Jean King Trophy for the first time in her career. She also became the first player from Kazakhstan to win the WTA Finals in either singles or doubles.
By going a perfect 5-0 throughout the tournament, with a 3-0 record in the group stage followed by a semifinal win over Jessica Pegula and the final over Sabalenka, Rybakina earned an unprecedented $5.235 million. According to the WTA, it is the largest single payout in the history of women’s sports and the largest prize ever awarded across both the ATP and WTA Tours. Sabalenka, who entered the final with an 8-5 record in their head-to-head, earned $2.7 million as runner-up.
The match opened with heavy hitting from the baseline. Both players landed strong first serves early, but Rybakina began to take control midway through the first set. She broke Sabalenka at love to go up 4-2 and closed out the set 6-3 with composed and efficient hitting.
The second set was much more tightly contested. Sabalenka saved four break points in the middle of the set and two more at 4-4 to stay level. But in the tiebreak, a situation where Sabalenka had dominated all season with a record 22 tiebreak wins, Rybakina was perfect. She shut out the two-time reigning year-end No. 1 by a score of 7-0, clinching the title when Sabalenka sent a backhand long. It was the first time Sabalenka had ever lost a tiebreak 7-0 in her career.
Rybakina hit 13 aces, finished with a 36–12 advantage in winners, converted the only break of the match, and was never broken. Sabalenka generated five break-point chances, but could not convert any of them.
Sabalenka, despite the loss, will finish ranked No. 1 for the second straight year. She won four titles in 2025, including the US Open, collected 63 match wins, and reached the finals of both the Australian Open and French Open.
Rybakina ends the season with a tour-best 45 hard-court wins and will move to a career-high No. 5 in the year-end rankings. She is also the 10th consecutive first-time champion of the WTA Finals.
