Who knew losing could be so lucrative? Just ask Swiatek and Rybakina!

Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina have netted a handsome amount despite being knocked out from the first round of the WTA Finals. The mega-event, which is the last in the women’s calendar, is currently being played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Initially, the top eight players played in the competition, which has now been reduced to two.

Two big-name players who were knocked out from the competition in the first round were the former world number one Swiatek and Rybakina. Swiatek, who was defending her title, was knocked out because of having an inferior set win % record whereas Rybakina was knocked out after losing two out of three matches.

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As per the latest report, despite their first-round exit, both players earned a handsome amount. Players who qualified for the mega-event netted $335k and then every win would get the players an additional income was $350k. Therefore, Swiatek ended up earning more than a million dollars whereas Rybakina ended up earning nearly $700k.

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Swiatek defeated the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of the competition with a score 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. She also defeated Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-0. Her only defeat in the competition came against America’s Coco Gauff who came out on top with a score of 6-3, 6-4. On the other hand, Rybakina lost to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in her tournament in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-4. She then lost to China’s Qinwen Zheng with a score of 7-6, 3-6, 6-1. Her only win in the competition came against the reigning world number one Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka where she came out on top with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. The competition’s final will be played between America’s Gauff and China’s Zheng on Sunday.