RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – NOVEMBER 08: Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan serves against Aryna Sabalenka during the Singles Final match on day eight of the WTA Finals Riyadh as part of the Hologic WTA Tour 2025 at King Saud University Indoor Arena on November 08, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for WTA)
Getty Images for WTA
Elena Rybakina won the biggest payday in women’s tennis history on Saturday.
With her 6-3, 7-6(0) victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Finals championship match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, No. 6 Rybakina will take home a record prize of $5,235,000 after going undefeated in the eight-woman event.
“I want to congratulate Aryna for being No. 1 second year in a row,” Rybakina said on court. “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, 26, was born in Russia but now represents Kazakhstan. She won her only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022 and also reached the Australian Open final in 2023.
Sabalenka had previously received the biggest women’s payday when she beat Amanda Anisimova in the US Open final two months ago.
“Not the result we all wanted today but… I guess I’m getting old,” Sabalenka said on court. “I’m getting really sensitive. So many things to be proud of.”
The biggest single payday on the men’s side also took place in Riyadh, when Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win $6 million in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition.
Saudi Arabia is into the second year of its three-year deal to host the WTA Finals and announced record prize money of $15.5 million for the year-end event, which features the best eight players in the world.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2025/11/08/elena-rybakina-wins-biggest-payday-in-womens-tennis-history/
