WTA Year-End Finals: Rybakina Defeats Sabalenka to Claim Championship with Five Straight Wins

On November 8, 2025, the WTA Year-End Finals in Riyadh wrapped up. Entering at the final moment, Rybakina beat world No.1 Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in straight sets, finishing undefeated with five wins to claim the championship. She took home the largest single prize ever awarded in women's sports—$5.235 million—and with 1500 ranking points, she will return to the top 5 in the global standings.

Rybakina

In their previous encounters, Sabalenka led with 8 wins to 5, and Rybakina’s last loss was just a month ago in the Wuhan quarterfinals. In this match, Rybakina came out firing in the first set, hitting 16 winners with only 10 unforced errors, while Sabalenka managed just 5 winners. Capitalizing on a break of serve, Rybakina took the first set 6-3.

In the second set, Sabalenka had two set points in the 10th game, both of which Rybakina saved. The match went to a tiebreak, where Rybakina dominated by winning seven consecutive points without conceding any, confidently lifting the champion’s trophy!

With this victory, Rybakina has now won titles at every level of the WTA Tour. She said after the match: “It’s been an incredible week. I had no expectations and didn’t think I’d get this far. It’s truly unbelievable. Congratulations to Aryna (Sabalenka) as well—being year-end No.1 two years in a row is remarkable. Today was a tough battle; sometimes I was lucky, but that’s tennis. I hope we meet again in finals of big tournaments.”

Sabalenka, having missed her set points in the second set, finished runner-up at the WTA Finals for the second time. She commented: “Elena (Rybakina), you were clearly the better player today and completely outplayed me. It’s great to see you playing your best tennis and peaking at the end of the season. Now it’s time to enjoy the off-season. This isn’t the result we wanted... Maybe I’m getting older and more sensitive. Still, there’s a lot to be proud of this year. Thank you all.”

Rybakina’s Path to the Title

Group Stage:

RR 6-3, 6-1 vs. Anisimova [4]

RR 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 vs. Swiatek [2]

RR 6-4, 6-4 vs. Alexandrova [10]

Semifinal: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 vs. Pegula [5]

Final: 6-3, 7-6(0) vs. Sabalenka [1]

Kudermetova / Mertens

In the doubles final held earlier, Wimbledon champions and 4th seeds Kudermetova and Mertens defeated 7th seeds Babos and Stefani 7-6(4), 6-1, reclaiming the WTA Finals doubles title together after three years.

Kudermetova / Mertens’ Road to Victory

Group Stage:

RR 6-1, 5-7, 5-10 vs. Hsieh / Ostapenko [6]

RR 6-4, 6-7(6), 10-6 vs. Stosur / Muhammad [8]

RR 6-3, 6-3 vs. Paolini / Errani [1]

Semifinal: 4-6, 7-6(6), 10-6 vs. Siniakova / Townsend [2]

Final: 7-6(4), 6-1 vs. Babos / Stefani [7]

(Text and Editing: Dato; Photos: Visual China)