WTA Prize Money Leaders Update | Jessica Pegula climbs toward Sabalenka; Swiatek and Mboko drop

The second WTA 1000 of the season was completed last Saturday, with Jessica Pegula crowned champion of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. With significant prize money at stake in the tournament, the WTA Prize Money Leaders of the season were updated, and Jessica Pegula climbed to the podium of the highest-earning players – only behind Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

Also continuing a strong year is the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who, shortly after her return to the top-10 of the WTA Ranking, managed to rise to the top-4 in year-to-date prize money. It was a remarkable tournament not only for Pegula but for the three main American representatives. Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova were eliminated in the semifinals, which gave them boosts in prize money – each earning nearly $200K. Gauff moves up to No. 5, and Anisimova climbs to 11th place for the season.

The Dubai champion was a remarkable Jessica Pegula, who continues to show her consistency and level as one of the top players of the last five years. The 32-year-old player secured her 4th WTA 1000 title, after defeating Svitolina 6-2, 6-4. That is about $665K in earnings for the American – who now surpasses $1.5M in prize money in 2026 and rises from the 9th place she held just a week ago.

However, the leaders in earnings remain the same finalists from the Australian Open. Of course, champion Elena Rybakina ($2.87M) took the most lucrative prize of the year by lifting her second Grand Slam trophy, and with her other season performances, she is quickly approaching $3 million.

Second place goes to Aryna Sabalenka ($1.6M), who chose to skip the Middle East swing – meaning she did not play the first WTA 1000 tournaments of the season in Doha and Dubai – but her campaign up to the final of the Australian Open keeps her high in second place – still at a wide distance from Rybakina. In any case, she begins to feel threatened by Pegula – with a gap of just $35K, meaning that whoever advances at least one more round than the other at Indian Wells (the next tournament for both) will take second place.

The epic campaign in Dubai up to the final left Elina Svitolina ($1.28M) in 4th place among the Prize Money Leaders. A week ago, she entered the top-10 for the first time this year – and this time increased her earnings by almost $400K. The Ukrainian eliminated Coco Gauff along the way, and the American dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 in this ranking.

Others who fell include Iga Swiatek ($1.07M), Doha champion Karolina Muchova ($1.06M), and the runner-up of the same tournament, Victoria Mboko. After being between 4th and 6th place a week ago, the three players opted not to participate in Dubai to begin their preparations for Indian Wells. The campaigns of Svitolina and Pegula displaced them two positions down each.