WTA Finals 2025: Elena Rybakina topples world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka for first-ever triumph at year-end event

Aryna Sabalenka will end the 2025 tennis season as world No.1, but it's Elena Rybakina who had the last laugh.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion claimed the second-biggest title of her career with a decisive yet hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(0) win in the WTA Finals championship singles match Saturday (8 November) night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It marks an 11th consecutive win to end the season for the world No.6 from Kazakhstan, who was the eighth and final player to qualify for the Finals last week. That streak included five wins over Top 10 opponents in Riyadh.

It's her 11th career title, as well, adding to trophies in Strasbourg and Ningbo earlier in the season.

The big-hitting 26-year-old was in scintillating form throughout the week, not dropping a match in five played, helping her to earn a record professional tennis payout of $5.2 million USD.

She denied Sabalenka, who won the US Open in early September for her fourth career major, a first WTA FInals championship title. She was also runner-up in 2022, losing to Caroline Garcia.

"It's been an incredible week," said Rybakina, who saved all five break points she faced on her serve in the final. "I honestly didn't expect any result [like this]. To go so far, it's just incredible. Today was such a tough battle."

Rybakina will finish her 2025 by returning to the world's top five after earning the Billie Jean King Trophy. She was last ranked that high in February of this year.

It was a 14th meeting between Rybakina and Sabalenka, with the Kazakh drawing closer in the head-to-head at 6-8. They split their four meetings in 2025.

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Was the writing on the wall? Rybakina won the pre-match ceremonial coin toss by choosing the "trophy" side of the flipped coin, as noted by WTA TV commentator Kevin Skinner.

She'd select to serve, holding to open the championship match - an omen that proved golden.

Rybakina struck the ball well from out of the gates, and gained her first advantage with a break of Sabalenka's serve to love for a 4-2 lead. She'd win the first set in 45 minutes 6-3 thanks to a Sabalenka backhand return into the net.

Neither player wilted on serve in set two, though Sabalenka fought back from a 15-40 deficit that looked lethal at 4-all. She'd have two set points in the following game, Rybakina batting them away at 4-5 and the two eventually arriving to a tiebreak.

That's where Sabalenka has shone brightest in the recent past, having - at one point in the 2025 season - won 19 consecutive tiebreaks played. But she was unable to conjure anything near her best in this one, with Rybakina maintaining her level across the finish line.

Another return error - this one a forehand long - spelled the end for Sabalenka in one hour, 47 minutes.

The stat sheet didn't lie for Rybakina: 36 winners hit to just 12 for Sabalenka, including 13 aces for the Kazakh on 73 percent of first serve points won. She also claimed 10 of 12 points at net and - as mentioned - wasn't broken on serve all day.

Never one to show too much emotion, Rybakina simply pumped her fist and flashed a satisfied smile upon claiming the title, surely etching her name among the short list for potential Grand Slam champions in 2026.

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