Elena Rybakina Overcomes World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka To Win WTA Finals

Aryna Sabalenka will finish the 2025 tennis season as the World No. 1, but it was Elena Rybakina who had the final word, as per Olympics.com.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion lifted the second-biggest title of her career after defeating Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in the WTA Finals championship singles match in Riyadh.

Rybakina, currently ranked World No. 6, concluded her season with 11 consecutive wins, a remarkable streak that included five victories over top-10 players in Riyadh. The Kazakh star was the last player to qualify for the Finals.

This marks her 11th career title, following her triumphs earlier this season in Strasbourg and Ningbo. Her performance in Riyadh also earned her a record-breaking prize money of USD 5.2 million.

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Sabalenka, who captured her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open in September, once again fell short of a WTA Finals crown. She was also the runner-up in 2022, when she lost to Caroline Garcia.

"It's been an incredible week," said Rybakina, as quoted from Olympics.com.

"I honestly didn't expect any result (like this). To go so far, it's just incredible. Today was such a tough battle," she added.

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By winning the prestigious Billie Jean King Trophy, Rybakina will return to the world's top five, a position she last held in February this year.

The final was the 14th career meeting between Rybakina and Sabalenka, with the Kazakh narrowing the head-to-head to 6-8.