New Queen of the WTA Finals: Flawless Elena Rybakina dominates Aryna Sabalenka in Riyadh

Elena Rybakina became the new champion of the WTA Finals after defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0), denying Sabalenka the year-end title once again. The Kazakh had been eliminated in the Round Robin in her two previous appearances, but this time she had an impeccable tournament campaign, securing her third title of the season. The Kazakh finishes the season as World No. 5.

For the 10th consecutive year, there is a new champion at the WTA Finals, and Rybakina achieves it with a perfect run, defeating four Top-5 players along the way. Rybakina extends her winning streak to 11 consecutive victories and slightly closes the head-to-head, with Sabalenka still leading 8-6 so far.

On the World No. 1's side, Sabalenka concludes a great season with her 9th final in 2025 (including 4 titles) and finishes as World No. 1 by a significant margin over her pursuers. The Belarusian once again leaves empty-handed, despite reaching at least the semi-finals in her last four consecutive appearances at the WTA Finals.

This was the 14th match between Sabalenka and Rybakina and the 4th final between them (with a previous record of 2-1 in favor of the Kazakh). Rybakina showed the high level she had carried over from the last weeks of the year right from the start. The Kazakh was the first to have a break opportunity—in Sabalenka's very first service game—but the Belarusian managed to hold on.

Both players created opportunities throughout the set, but Rybakina was better in the key moments. The Kazakh saved 3 break points against her, while capitalizing on 1 of the 2 opportunities she had. The former Wimbledon champion won 64% of service points before closing the set 6-4 after 45 minutes.

During the first set, a frustrated Sabalenka was already visible, struggling with her own errors and the great game posed by Rybakina, who refused to be intimidated by her opponent's power. It was a duel between two ball-strikers, where Rybakina had better tools in the exchanges and greater effectiveness on her serve. The pressure was evident on Sabalenka in the second set, as her rival did not let up.

Only a few games into the second set, Sabalenka had already saved two break points against her, while Rybakina had held her first nine service games without issue. The World No. 1, for her part, showed conviction to move forward despite the frustration and managed to hold her serve for several games, reaching 4-4 without major surprises.

It was then that the tension mounted: Sabalenka faced a 15-40 in the 9th game but managed to hold on. Immediately afterward, Rybakina faced a 15-40 (which meant two set points for her opponent), but she again escaped unharmed. Everything was decided in the tie-break, where an early advantage for the Kazakh with an opening mini-break gave her confidence to push for the victory. Rybakina was clinical against an erratic Sabalenka and ended up taking the win 6-3, 7-6(0).