Follow us on Google Discover Elena Rybakina clinched her maiden WTA Finals title on Saturday with a world-class performance.
Taking on Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka, Rybakina began the WTA Finals championship match as a slight underdog.
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Pulling off the upset, Rybakina defeated Sabalenka in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (6-0), to win the tour finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In doing so, the Kazakh matched a record set by American tennis legend Tracy Austin, back in 1980.
Elena Rybakina becomes second player ever to beat the world number one in back-to-back WTA Finals
Rybakina has now beaten the world number one in back-to-back WTA Finals tournaments.
2024 WTA Finals RR – Elena Rybakina defeated [1] Aryna Sabalenka (6-4, 3-6, 6-1)2025 WTA Finals F – Elena Rybakina defeated [1] Aryna Sabalenka (6-3, 7-6)
The only other player to do so was Austin, 45 years ago…
1979 WTA Finals – Tracy Austin defeated [1] Chris Evert1980 WTA Finals – Tracy Austin defeated [1] Martina Navratilova
Matching the incredible feat, Rybakina jumped up to fifth in the WTA rankings.
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If she can continue to play as well as she did against Sabalenka in the final, she may well find herself chasing down the top spot before too long…
RankNameCountryPoints1Aryna SabalenkaBelarus10,8702Iga SwiatekPoland8,3953Coco GauffUSA6,7634Amanda AnisimovaUSA6,2875Elena RybakinaKazakhstan5,8506Jessica PegulaUSA5,5837Madison KeysUSA4,3358Jasmine PaoliniItaly4,3259Mirra AndreevaRussia4,31910Ekaterina AlexandrovaRussia3,375Live WTA top 10
Rybakina trails world number one Sabalenka by over 5,000 points, but is now within 1,000 points of the world number three, Coco Gauff.
Considering Rybakina sat outside the top 10 for large parts of the year, she should be immensely proud to see her end-of-season efforts catapult her back into contention.
How well has Elena Rybakina performed at the end of 2025?
From Wimbledon onwards, Rybakina looked more like her former self, enjoying strong results at several events.
The Kazakh reached the semifinals of the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, and made a run to the last eight in Wuhan.
It was after her quarterfinal defeat in Wuhan, however, that things really got going for Rybakina, as she embarked on an 11-match winning streak to end the year.
Elena Rybakina’s end-of-season winning streak1. Ningbo Open 2R [WIN] vs Dayana Yastremska2. Ningbo Open QF [WIN] vs Ajla Tomljanovic3. Ningbo Open SF [WIN] vs Jasmine Paolini4. Ningbo Open F [WIN] vs Ekaterina Alexandrova5. Japan Open 2R [WIN] vs Leylah Fernandez6. Japan Open QF [WIN] vs Victoria MbokoJapan Open – Walkover7. WTA Finals RR [WIN] vs Amanda Anisimova8. WTA Finals RR [WIN] vs Iga Swiatek9. WTA Finals RR [WIN] vs Ekaterina Alexandrova10. WTA Finals SF [WIN] vs Jessica Pegula11. WTA Finals F [WIN] vs Aryna Sabalenka
Rybakina has been excellent, and she needed to be, only making it to Riyadh thanks to her title win in Ningbo and quarterfinal appearance at the Japan Open.
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Her level in Saudi Arabia was particularly impressive, taking down the world number one, two, four, and five.
Winning the title, Rybakina became the latest ‘unique’ winner at the season-ending finals.
No player has won multiple titles at the event since Serena Williams, over a decade ago.
YearLocationChampionRunner-up2025Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaElena RybakinaAryna Sabalenka2024Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCoco GauffQinwen Zheng2023Cancun, MexicoIga SwiatekJessica Pegula2022Fort Worth, USACaroline GarciaAryna Sabalenka2021Guadalajara, MexicoGarbine MuguruzaAnett Kontaveit2019Shenzhen, ChinaAshleigh BartyElina Svitolina2018SingaporeElina SvitolinaSloane Stephens2017SingaporeCaroline WozniackiVenus Williams2016SingaporeDominika CibulkovaAngelique Kerber2015SingaporeAgnieszka RadwanskaPetra Kvitova2014SingaporeSerena WilliamsSimona Halep2013Istanbul, TurkeySerena WilliamsLi NaRecent WTA Finals champions
Only time will tell if we will see the pattern continue in 2026, or if the likes of Gauff, Iga Swiatek, or Rybakina can add a second title to their collection.
The 2026 WTA Finals will begin on November 7, 2026.