Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Win Historic £4 Million Reward
Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court win of 2025
Rybakina secured the largest prize in WTA all time by defeating world number one Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.
The 26-year-old produced a stunning performance to beat four-time Grand Slam champion her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.
Since both players came through the tournament undefeated, the reward on the table was a unprecedented almost £4 million – the highest payout offering in women's tennis history.
This amount tops the £3.74m Sabalenka received for winning September's US Open, which was the highest-paying major tournament in 2025.
"It's been an incredible week," stated the Kazakh player.
"Truly didn't expect this outcome so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say congratulations to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year running, it's an tremendous achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered 16 winning shots during a impressive first-set performance.
Rybakina saved two break points before winning every point in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to seal the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved two opportunities at four-all to swing the momentum in her favor.
However, after fighting back to disrupt Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of set points in the following game to level the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to level the match affected her tie-break play, with the Kazakh taking every point to claim the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the rankings to number five in the world rankings.
An emotional Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team shortly after the match.
"That was not the finest performance from me today but Elena you were definitely the better competitor," Sabalenka told the audience.
"You really overpowered me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Enjoy this stunning trophy."
