WTA Finals: Rybakina rules in Riyadh

The first player representing an Asian country to triumph at the WTA Finals, Rybakina knocked out world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in the championship match to collect the Billie Jean King Cup trophy, 1,500 points, and a record $5.235 million in prize money.

Rybakina tallied up 48 aces across the tournament, including 13 against Sabalenka in the final, and 15 against Jessica Pegula in the semis.

She wrapped up her season by winning her last 11 matches and firmly reasserting herself as a major contender.

“I'm super proud,” Rybakina told reporters at the King Saud University Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

“Honestly, I didn't expect such a result, of course, and turning not the greatest season to an actually pretty good one. So yeah, I'm very, very happy.”

Rybakina had her shoulder taped during most of her matches in Riyadh, and was seen icing it after her clashes each day. It makes her serving performance all the more impressive and one only wonders how much better she could be playing if she didn’t have a sore shoulder.

“It's not a nice feeling when you feel uncomfortable on the serve, but I'm glad that also I have a physio who knows me really well, and he knows my issues, and he was pretty confident in what I need to do, and he told me not to worry also, and try to play free, because it would not get worse,” she explained.

“And also, yesterday, we were thinking how it's going to be in the morning. Of course, we were doing different treatments, and it didn't get really much worse, so I was kind of more free. And yeah, I'm happy that with all these little things, we managed very well with the team.”

Rybakina was near-unplayable against Sabalenka in the final, and found her best when she needed it the most. She saved 5/5 break points, and converted one of the six she created on her opponent’s serve.

She had a forgettable season at the Grand Slam level in 2025, but her end-of-year flourish can only spell good things for Rybakina moving forward.

“I will try to get all the positives and all the things which worked today for my next tournaments and hopefully same big moments. It always can go either way but I'm happy that today it went my way and yeah, definitely we need to analyse and try to carry the good things for the next big moments,” she said.

Sabalenka teared up during her runner-up speech as she addressed her team and told them they had plenty to be proud of this season.

They certainly do!

Sabalenka spent the entire season at the summit of the rankings and secured the year-end No.1 spot for a second consecutive campaign.

She tallied up the most wins on the WTA Tour, with 63 victories in 2025, made nine finals and won four of them, including a fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open, and notched 14 victories against top-10 opposition.

She was understandably angry and disappointed to have lost a fifth big final in 2025, but by the time she came to speak to the press some 45 minutes after her defeat, Sabalenka had simmered down and was able to focus on the positives.

“After a little time, I feel actually great. She played incredible,” said the 27-year-old.

“I feel like I did my best today, it didn't work, but I think there are so many things I have to be proud of. I'm leaving this tournament without any disappointment, I'm proud of myself and the things that we've been able to achieve as a team.”

Sabalenka was facing Rybakina for the 14th time (she leads their head-to-head 8-6) and tried to explain why the Kazakh proved to be such a difficult nut to crack in Riyadh this time around.

“She just decided that she's just gonna step in and go for her shots and without thinking and without doubting any decisions and I think she was a bit more brave today than me,” said the world No.1.

“Sometimes I was probably slowing down my speed and maybe going in the wrong targets and maybe sometimes I didn't play the smartest game that I can show, but yeah, the most difficult was that like she was just like going for her shots and she was like making those lines and lines after lines and I was like just trying to stay in the game.

“I was just trying to wait for an opportunity and when I had the opportunity in the second set, I think I just put so much pressure on myself.

“I think maybe next time in those big moments I will just play as a regular point, instead of thinking that, ‘Oh this is my opportunity’.”

Ready for some much-needed R&R in the Maldives with her boyfriend, Sabalenka added that she’ll take some time to analyse her big losses and figure out new ways to manage her emotions.

“The good thing is that I'm always there,” she said. “The bad thing is that this season, I lost most of the biggest finals I made, so I guess I'll just sit back in the Maldives, having probably some tequila and think back and try to analyse my behaviour, my emotions and think that actually it's been pretty good so far, I just need to get a little bit better, push myself a little bit more and hopefully next season, I'll improve.”