Overview
- Rybakina defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) in Riyadh to claim her first WTA Finals crown.
- She went 5-0 at the event to earn the maximum 1,500 ranking points and will rise to world No. 5.
- Her unbeaten run delivered a record $5.235 million winners’ cheque, the biggest single payout in women’s tennis.
- During the trophy ceremony, she declined the customary photo with WTA CEO Portia Archer and later said planned conversations with the WTA “never happened.”
- Commentators linked the gesture to the WTA’s earlier suspension of coach Stefano Vukov, which was overturned on appeal in August, and Pam Shriver publicly criticized Rybakina’s stance.