Elena Rybakina stuns Aryna Sabalenka to win WTA Finals, makes tennis history
Sometimes tennis is more than a match; it’s a storm brewing, a season climaxing in a frenzy of nerves and noise. On Saturday night, Elena Rybakina stood in the eye of that storm and emerged not just victorious but triumphant, taking down World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 to win the 2025 WTA Finals.
And with that win, along with bragging rights, came richest single payday in women’s sports history. A staggering $5.23 million.
There was something poetic in the way Rybakina went about her business. Silent but searing, painting the lines with precision and serving with such venom that Sabalenka, a player who typically thrives in the tiebreaker chaos, never found her rhythm.
“I want to congratulate Aryna for being no. 1 for the second year in a row,” said Rybakina. “It’s incredible. Today was such a tough battle. Some moments I got luckier. I hope we play many more finals in big tournaments”
Rybakina’s 13 aces were thunderclaps; her cool under pressure, a masterclass in poise. The match was the culmination of a season that had tested Rybakina on court and off.
Once hailed as a future queen in the era of a new Big Three alongside Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, she had spent the better part of 2024 wrestling not only with injuries and form, but with shadows from a personal storm — an investigation into her coach, Stefano Vukov, that left her drained, distracted, and drifting.
But something shifted as the calendar turned. A title in Ningbo. A semifinal in Tokyo. Wins that felt like whispers of the player who had won Wimbledon in 2022. Then came Riyadh.
She was the last to qualify, the quietest contender in a field of heavyweights. And then she made noise.
Five matches, five wins. Her serve was a weapon of war, her forehand a scalpel. She dismantled the world’s best in conditions that rewarded boldness, ending the week with 48 aces and just one dropped set.
Against Sabalenka, Rybakina struck early. Midway through the first set, she broke with a defensive lob that forced an error. It was the kind of shot that tells you it might be her night.
Sabalenka, for all her explosive power, was uncharacteristically jittery. By the second set, Rybakina had her backed into a corner. But just when it looked like Rybakina might serve out the match, the tide teased a turn.
Sabalenka saved four break points with gutsy serving. Then, suddenly, she had two set points of her own.
It was the kind of moment she has lived for. But Rybakina swatted them away with a net cord kiss and a gutsy second serve. The tiebreak that followed was an absolute rout.
Rybakina played it like she had memorized the script by winning seven straight points as Sabalenka fell apart, slapping forehands into the net and misfiring on returns.
And just like that, history was made.
Rybakina, the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian nation to win the WTA Finals, had clinched the biggest win of her career since Wimbledon. She will finish the year ranked No. 5 in the world. Her rivalry with Sabalenka, now locked at 6-8, continues to be one of the most compelling in the sport.
As for Sabalenka, the loss adds another scar to a season that’s been both golden and gutting.
She ends the year having played in four major finals—winning just one—and setting a WTA record for most prize money in a season, over $15 million. Still, Saturday night was another reminder that when the lights are brightest, the ghosts of inconsistency sometimes dance across her racquet.
