Rybakina Defeats Aryna Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4 Million Prize

Elena Rybakina secured the greatest prize in women's tennis history by defeating top-ranked Sabalenka in two sets at the tournament.

The 26-year-old produced a stunning display to beat four-time Grand Slam champion her opponent in two sets in the host country.

Since each competitor came through the event without a loss, the purse on offer was a record-breaking £3.98 million – the largest payout offering in WTA history.

This amount exceeds the £3.74m Sabalenka won for winning September's New York major, which was the highest-paying major tournament in 2025.

"It's been an fantastic tournament," stated Rybakina.

"Truly couldn't have predicted any result so to win the title was just incredible."

"I want to say praise to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an tremendous accomplishment."

The champion, who was the world number six, delivered sixteen winners during a commanding opening set display.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved two chances before taking every point in the sixth game to go a break up and held her serve to seal the opening set.

With the second set on serve, Sabalenka defended another two opportunities at four-all to shift the balance in her favor.

But, having worked so hard to upset her opponent's flow, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by wasting two set points in the next game to tie the set at five-all.

Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tiebreak play, with the Kazakh winning every point to claim the title.

This win, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will rise one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world.

An emotional Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team shortly after the match.

"It was not the best performance from me today but Elena you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian addressed the crowd.

"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this stunning title."