Aryna Sabalenka in tears after missing out on biggest…

Aryna Sabalenka in tears after missing out on biggest payday in women’s tennis history

Aryna Sabalenka reacts after her defeat to Elena Rybakina - (AFP via Getty Images)

Aryna Sabalenka smashed her racket and broke into tears after losing to Elena Rybakina in the WTA Finals singles final and missing out on the biggest single payday in women’s tennis history.

Rybakina won her biggest title since lifting Wimbledon in 2022 as the sixth seed produced a stunning performance to win 6-3 7-6 (7-0) against the World No 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Rybakina and Sabalenka both won all three of their round-robin matches to advance to the final undefeated, which meant a record prize of $5,235,000 (£3.98m) was on the line for the champion.

Rybakina beat Sabalenka in straight-sets to continue her excellent end-of-season form (REUTERS)

It is more than Sabalenka received for winning the US Open title two months ago, where the World No 1 pocketed an overall prize of $5m (£3.74m) for defeating Amanda Anisimova for her fourth grand slam title.

Rybakina’s performance, which combined unstoppable serving and destructive groundstrokes, suggested the 26-year-old could once again compete for grand slam titles following a frustrating period of illness and a loss of form since her last major final at the Australian Open in 2023, where she lost to Sabalenka in three sets.

Rybakina was the last player to qualify for the WTA Finals but swept to her 11th consecutive win to continue her excellent end-of-season form.

Despite being in control on serve throughout the second set, the 26-year-old was forced to saved two set points from Sabalenka to force the decider, where she won seven points in a row to win her biggest title in three years.

"It's been an incredible week," Rybakina said. "I honestly didn't expect any result, to go so far is just incredible. Today was such a tough battle."

Sabalenka smashed her racket off the court before shaking hands with Rybakina at the net. The 27-year-old Belarusian then went off court to join her coaches, where she broke into tears.

“I am getting old, I am getting really sensitive,” Sabalenka said in the trophy ceremony. “So many things to be proud of. Not the best performance, she was definitely the better player. She literally smashed me out of the court."

Sabalenka was also beaten in two grand slam finals this season (REUTERS)

Sabalenka was aiming to win the WTA Finals for the first time, having lost to Caroline Garcia in the final of the year-end tournament in 2022. She lost two grand slam finals in 2025, to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros, before beating Anisimova to win the US Open two months ago.

Sabalenka, however, still set a new WTA record for season earnings. She won $2,695,000 for reaching the final in Riyadh with four wins, taking her prize money for the season to just over $15m. According to the WTA, it takes Sabalenka’s season earnings well above previous record owned by Serena Williams in 2013, when she won $12,385,572.

Aryna Sabalenka had already sealed the year-end No 1 (REUTERS)

Saudi Arabia is into the second year of its three-year deal to host the WTA Finals and announced record prize money of $15.5m (£12m) for the year-end event, which features the best eight players in the world.

The biggest single payday of the season on the men’s side also took place in Riyadh, when Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win $6m (£4.5m) in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition last month.

It is the highest profile women’s tennis event to take place in Saudi Arabia, which has often been accused of using sport and entertainment to whitewash its human rights record.