A stunning straight-sets defeat to Elena Rybakina in the championship match of the 2025 WTA Finals ended world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s season. In a match where Rybakina was simply better, serving 13 aces and saving all five break points against her to claim the title, Sabalenka was left staring ahead in stunned silence. Yet, from immediate disappointment emerged a silver lining. A literal one.

As reported by TNT Sports on X, the runner-up prize money of $2.695 million she earned in Riyadh propelled Sabalenka’s total season earnings to a record $15,008,519. This staggering figure shattered a benchmark once thought to be untouchable, finally surpassing the single-season prize money record set by Serena Williams over a decade prior. The record Aryna Sabalenka toppled was set during what was arguably one of the most dominant seasons in tennis history.

In 2013, Serena Williams compiled an awe-inspiring 78-4 match record, clinching 11 titles, including her second straight US Open title and the French Open. Her season was capped by a gutsy three-set victory over Li Na to successfully defend her WTA Championships title, a win that brought her annual prize money to a then-record $12,385,572. At 32, Williams was the oldest woman ever to hold the No. 1 ranking and the first player since Martina Hingis in 1997 to win 11 titles in a single season.

Despite this nearly flawless performance, Williams herself downplayed it as her best year, telling reporters, “I live to win Slams. I am excited to win the WTA Championships, but I would say (this season is) only top three. I am not going to say that this is the best. I think some years I can do better, and next year, I hope — I look forward to it.”

While Sabalenka’s record-breaking payday highlights the modern growth in tennis’s financial rewards, it also serves as a testament to Sabalenka’s remarkable consistency and excellence throughout the 2025 season. Her journey to the record was built on some incredible performances; she finishes the year with the most match wins (63) and more ranking points (10,870) than any other player, having retained the World No. 1 ranking now for back-to-back seasons.

Though this season was also defined by some big losses, like at the finals of the Australian Open, French Open, and now ATP Finals, Sabalenka did also successfully defend her US Open crown, just like Williams did back in 2013 (she, in fact, was the first to do it since Williams too).

Her constant presence at the deepest stages of tennis’ biggest tournaments helped make the new record possible. However, Aryna Sabalenka’s windfall wasn’t the only story to come out from her WTA Finals defeat; it was also accented by controversy because of a statement that the Belarusian made.

Aryna Sabalenka was left completely frustrated by Elena Rybakina

Aryna Sabalenka went down fighting against Elena Rybakina, but in the end, even the ‘tiger’ wasn’t enough to stop Rybakina’s advance. The final scoreline of 6-3, 7-6(0) in Riyadh was a microcosm of the Kazakhstani’s undefeated tournament run: dominant, resurgent, and fully in control.

But Rybakina’s win and last-gasp entry into the tournament (after a streaky season), coupled with Sabalenka’s dominance ending in yet another finals heartbreak, appears to have been the tipping point for the 27-year-old. Clearly feeling the weight of the loss, she made her way to the bench and proceeded to reignite a now familiar debate: is Aryna Sabalenka a sore loser?

“Once a year even the stick shoots.” That’s what a visibly frustrated Sabalenka said, making a thinly veiled dig at her Russian-born Kazakhstani opponent. Sabalenka’s comment is a Russian proverb that roughly means even an unskilled or inexperienced person does, on occasion, luck into a win, purely by chance.

This comes just months after Sabalenka was put on blast by fans and the media for downplaying and dismissing Coco Gauff’s French Open victory in her post-match presser. Though she later apologized to Gauff for her “completely unprofessional” remarks, so far Sabalenka hasn’t publicly addressed her subtle jab at Rybakina.

Nonetheless, the 2025 season is over for Aryna Sabalenka and the rest of the WTA, and now comes the time to rest and regroup. Can the Belarusian shake off the disappointing end to an otherwise successful season and do it all again, perhaps with a few more titles to show for her efforts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.