🔗 Share this article Elena Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Win Record £4m Prize Elena Rybakina sealed her forty-fifth hard court triumph of the year Elena Rybakina secured the biggest payday in women's tennis all time by defeating top-ranked Sabalenka in two sets at the championship. Rybakina produced a impressive performance to overcome four-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia. Because both players advanced through the tournament without a loss, the reward on the table was a record-breaking £3.98 million – the highest payout awarded in women's tennis the sport's history. The reward tops the £3.74m the Belarusian won for claiming September's New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in 2025. "This has been an incredible tournament," said the Kazakh player. "Truly couldn't have predicted any result so to go so far was just unbelievable." "Let me offer congratulations to Sabalenka for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an tremendous accomplishment." The champion, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered sixteen winners during a impressive opening set performance. The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off two break points before taking every point in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and served out to win the first set. As the second set progressed, the world number one defended another two opportunities at four-all to swing the momentum in her favour. However, after fighting back to upset Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering two set points in the following game to tie the set at 5-5. Sabalenka's failure to level the match impacted her tie-break play, with Rybakina taking every point to win the championship. This win, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will rise one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world. An emotional Sabalenka was seen crying as she sat with her coaching team shortly after the match. "It was not the best performance from me in this match but Rybakina you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian told the crowd. "You really overpowered me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."