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Elena Rybakina claimed the largest prize in WTA all time by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the tournament.

Rybakina delivered a brilliant performance to beat four-time Grand Slam winner her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.

Since each competitor came through the competition without a loss, the purse on the table was a unprecedented £3.98m – the biggest payout offering in women's tennis the sport's history.

The prize money tops the £3.74 million Sabalenka earned for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in 2025.

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

"I honestly didn't expect any result so to reach the final was just incredible."

"Let me offer praise to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year in a row, it's an outstanding achievement."

Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered 16 winning shots during a commanding opening set display.

Rybakina fended off a couple of break points before winning every point in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and served out to secure the opening set.

With the second set on serve, the world number one defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favour.

However, having worked so hard to upset Rybakina's rhythm, the top seed failed to capitalize by wasting a pair of chances in the next game to level the second set at five-all.

Her inability to force a decider impacted her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh winning every point to claim the title.

The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will rise one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.

A distraught Sabalenka was seen crying as she sat with her coaching team soon after the final.

"It was not the best performance from me today but Elena you were certainly the better player," the Belarusian told the crowd.

"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Enjoy this beautiful trophy."