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Rybakina won the largest payday in WTA history by beating top-ranked Sabalenka in two sets at the WTA Finals.

The 26-year-old delivered a stunning display to overcome four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.

Since each competitor advanced through the competition without a loss, the reward on offer was a record-breaking almost £4 million – the biggest prize offering in women's tennis the sport's history.

This amount exceeds the £3.74m the Belarusian won for winning the US Open, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in 2025.

"This has been an amazing tournament," said the Kazakh player.

"Truly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."

"I want to say praise to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an incredible accomplishment."

Rybakina, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winning shots during a impressive opening set display.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved a couple of break points before taking every point in the sixth game of the set to take the break and served out to secure the opening set.

As the second set progressed, the world number one saved two break points at four-all to swing the momentum in her favour.

However, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by wasting two chances in the following game to level the set at 5-5.

Her inability to level the match affected her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh taking every point to win the championship.

The victory, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will move up one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world.

A distraught the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her coaching team soon after the match.

"It was not the finest display from me today but Elena you were certainly the better competitor," the Belarusian addressed the audience.

"You really overpowered me on court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."