RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — She entered the tournament at less than her best and decided to go all in on a first-strike, attack-mode strategy.
And then, as she progressed through the WTA Finals field, Elena Rybakina — despite a sore right shoulder — started to feel better and better about her game. She faced World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday night’s final and didn’t change a thing.
“I feel like she just decided that she’s just going to step in and go for her shots without, thinking and without doubting any decisions,” Sabalenka said. “And I think she was a bit more brave today than me.”
Rybakina was a 6-3 7-6 (0) winner and, because of her undefeated 5-0 record, collected $5,235,000 in prize money.
It was the 11th straight match-win for the 26-year-old from Kazakhstan, a win streak that started after a loss to Sabalenka in Wuhan, China.
Rybakina has now gone 8-6 against No. 1 players, a remarkable record. She’s the first player to defeat both Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek at multiple WTA events, after previously achieving the feat on the way to winning tournament title at Indian Wells in 2023.
The serve, as usual, was the critical piece. After hitting 15 aces against Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, she added 13 more against Sabalenka — and saved all five break points. She also won nearly 77 percent of her first-serve points.
“Some moments,” Rybakina said, “when I needed it the most, the serve worked — even though she was really playing well and pushing me in the tough situations.”
Sabalenka has a reputation for power, but Rybakina produced far faster groundstrokes from both sides. She constantly had Sabalenka under pressure, hitting off-balance shots — and talking to herself.
Even before that ultimate tiebreak, Rybakina asserted herself. Down 4-5 in the second set, she saved two set points
“The most difficult [thing] was that she was just like, going for her shots, and she was making those lines after lines after lines,” Sabalenka said. “I was just trying to wait for opportunity.”
A chance that never, truly came.
Afterward, Rybakina sat down with wtatennis.com. Here’s what she had to say:
You arrived here jet-lagged, tired from playing so many matches and, by your own admission, had low expectations How did those low expectations help you win the tournament?
Rybakina: Yeah, I guess I was not putting too much pressure on myself. It’s a lot of challenges when you come from tournament to tournament, even if it’s not a long travel. You need to get used to the new conditions, new balls, learning how to control them. We did only two days of practice, and I went right into my first match. It was not easy. But the advantage I had was the serve, that’s what we were focusing on because we knew in the longer rallies I wouldn’t be feeling so confident because we just arrived. I was trying to go for early shots. I was really aggressive, I would say, the whole tournament. The best players, they will give you some chances but not that much. I was taking everything as soon as possible.
You lost the first set of your group match to Swiatek — and then won 12 of 13 games. How do you turn it on like that?
Rybakina: She played really well to start. Sometimes it takes time for everybody to get used to each other. For example, Iga plays with more spin on the ball, and she has unbelievable footwork and energy on the court. Sometimes I’m a little too slow to start the match, not serving as good when the match goes longer. It’s really little details, but I managed to find a way and put things together.
No one was better than Sabalenka in tiebreaks this year, and yet, you didn’t give her one point in the second-set breaker. That’s never, ever happened in her career. How do you explain that?
Rybakina: [Exhales sharply.] Oh, OK. I remember when the tiebreak started that once this year I played against her in the third set [in Berlin], and I was up and had so many match points because it was a tiebreak. It was such a match and this time, I was just going point by point. Until the moment of the match point, I didn’t want to think about it. And then I realized that I won — because I was so focused. Looking back, first few points were really important.
Best of the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh
You won Wimbledon three years ago … How can this big a springboard to more success at the Grand Slam level next year?
Rybakina: Well, I hope so. All that happened this week, I can bring to the next season. It gives me so much more motivation to work even more because we did good progress in the little blocks between the tournaments. Physically, even when I wasn’t at my best, we did a good job. I’ve experienced winning a Slam, losing in a final to Aryna [2023 Australian Open] … each match like this brings so much experience and this time it went my way, everything worked. I’ll try to carry every positive thing from this tournament into my next big matches.
You’re flying back to Dubai on Sunday … Any vacation plans?
Rybakina: I’m going to spend a couple of days in Europe, different cities. Mostly for the health, some tests. I’ve been having some [illness] issues that went away and are coming back. And then I’ll see my family. Since I live in Dubai, there are good places to train. So I think I’m going to stay there, in one place. Looking forward to a rest.