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Rybakina claimed the largest reward in WTA all time by overcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.

Rybakina produced a brilliant performance to defeat four-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.

Because both players came through the event undefeated, the purse on offer was a historic £3.98m – the biggest prize offering in WTA history.

This amount tops the £3.74m Sabalenka earned for claiming September's US Open, which was the highest-paying major tournament in 2025.

"It's been an fantastic week," said the Kazakh player.

"Truly didn't expect this outcome so to win the title was just remarkable."

"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year in a row, it's an tremendous achievement."

The champion, who was the world number six, hit 16 winning shots during a impressive opening set display.

Rybakina fended off two chances before winning all four points in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and held her serve to secure the opening set.

As the second set progressed, Sabalenka saved two opportunities at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favour.

However, having worked so hard to upset Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of chances in the next game to tie the second set at 5-5.

Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tiebreak play, with Rybakina taking every point to take home the title.

This win, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will move up one spot in the WTA rankings to number five in the world rankings.

An emotional Sabalenka was seen crying as she sat with her coaching team soon after the match.

"It was not the best performance from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the superior player," Sabalenka told the crowd.

"You literally overpowered me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this stunning trophy."