Rybakina won the largest prize money in women s tennis history

This bonus is for the WTA Finals champion with an undefeated record, higher than the old record of 5 million USD that Sabalenka received at the 2025 US Open. Even though Sabalenka lost in the final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 8, she still received 2.69 million USD as a bonus for the runner-up of the tournament including the eight best players of the year.

Rybakina is the player who won the last ticket to attend this year's ATP Finals. In the process of being crowned in the tournament for the eight best players of the year, Rybakina defeated Amanda Anisimova, Iga Swiatek, Ekaterina Alexandrova in the group stage, Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals and Sabalenka in the final.

The Kazakh tennis player won 11 consecutive matches at the end of the season, ending the year with three titles, in Strasbourg, Ningbo and Riyadh. Rybakina ranked second in terms of titles this year, just behind Sabalenka (4 titles), and equal to Swiatek and Pegula. 58 victories this season is also the best achievement of Rybakina's career.

The first set in the WTA Finals was a tense battle with powerful serves from both sides, until Rybakina found a rhythm in the middle of the set. She won the return game blankly to lead 4–2, then closed the set with a score of 6-3 when Sabalenka missed.

In the second set, Sabalenka saved two break points in the third game and added two more break points at 4–4. However, the world number one player collapsed in the tie-break series, losing 0-7. This was rare for Sabalenka, who set a record of winning 22 tie-breaks in a season, the most in the Open Era.

The 1 hour 47 minute final saw Rybakina hit 13 aces and successfully take advantage of one of the six break points. Sabalenka had five opportunities but could not take advantage of them.

After winning the WTA Finals, Rybakina caused a stir when she refused to take a photo with WTA CEO Portia Archer. Last year, the WTA investigation report showed that Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov mentally and physically abused her.. As a result, the WTA suspended Vukov, banned him from coaching and did not issue cards to participate in tournaments for one year, after concluding an investigation into violations of the code of conduct.

The ban was lifted in August this year. Rybakina always tried to protect Vukov's image, asserting that he had never treated her badly. The 26-year-old tennis player went to hug Vukov first, after being crowned at the WTA Finals on November 8.

As for Sabalenka, the Belarusian player did not break down after the defeat: "I did my best. Today was not successful, but I have a lot to be proud of. I left the tournament without any disappointment, just feeling proud of myself and what my team and I achieved get ".

Sabalenka ended the 2025 season with records, including the most wins (63), the highest total points (10,870) and the most prize money in history in a year (15 million USD).