Elena Rybakina won the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (0) on Saturday.
It’s the tenth straight year that the WTA Finals has a first-time winner, as Coco Gauff won the event last year. The last player to win the WTA Finals in consecutive years was Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014.
The match was tightly contested, with only one break point converted in the entire match, which Rybakina won by utilizing her powerful service game to put pressure on Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam winner, also lost the WTA Finals in 2022, when she was beaten by Carlone Garcia in Fort Worth, Texas. Sabalenka came into the finals with a 22–2 record in tie-breakers and was bageled during the second set.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and the last player to qualify for a spot in the round-robin tournament, went undefeated, with a 5-0 record. She will receive a payday of $5.23 million, which the WTA says is the largest payout in the history of women’s sports.
Sabalenka will receive $2.695 million as runner-up and maintain the world’s No. 1 ranking despite the loss.