Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Secure Historic £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court win of 2025
Rybakina claimed the biggest reward in women's tennis all time by overcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
The 26-year-old produced a brilliant performance to beat four-times major winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.
Since each competitor came through the tournament undefeated, the prize money on offer was a historic £3.98m – the biggest prize awarded in WTA the sport's history.
The reward exceeds the £3.74m the Belarusian received for claiming September's US Open, which was the most lucrative Grand Slam 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 Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year running, it's an incredible achievement."
The champion, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winners during a impressive first-set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off a couple of break points before winning every point in the sixth game to go a break up and served out to secure the opening set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved another two opportunities 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 wasting a pair of chances in the next game to tie the second set at five-all.
Her inability to level the match affected her tie-break performance, with Rybakina taking all seven points to claim the title.
This win, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will rise one place in the rankings to number five in the world rankings.
A distraught Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team soon after the final.
"It was not the finest performance from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the superior competitor," the Belarusian told the crowd.
"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Enjoy this beautiful title."
