Elena Rybakina’s remarkable season-ending run has undeniably become the talk of the town. And it’s not just her fans who are in awe of her achievements; even her peers, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, who competed alongside her at the WTA Finals, couldn’t help but express their admiration. The duo recently reflected on the Kazakh’s stunning late-season resurgence and the staggering prize money she took home in Riyadh.
Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys Were in Awe of Elena Rybakina’s Triumph in Riyadh
Based on her accomplishments in 2025, Rybakina had a phenomenal season. The Kazakh capped off the year with three titles: the Internationaux de Strasbourg, the Ningbo Open, and ultimately the prestigious WTA Finals in Riyadh. She finished the season with a decent 59-19 win-loss record and in the fifth spot in the WTA rankings.
Rybakina entered the season-ending event in the Serena Williams Group and began her campaign with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over American Amanda Anisimova. She then overcame World No. 1 Iga Świątek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 and defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4 to book her place in the semifinals.
Rybakina’s momentum carried seamlessly into the knockout stages. She battled past Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a gripping semifinal, before defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) to capture the WTA Finals title for the first time. Her triumph also came with a record-breaking $5,235,000 payout, the largest in WTA history.
The World No. 5’s success recently became the topic of discussion in ‘The Players Box’ podcast, featuring Desirae Krawczyk, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and Jennifer Brady. Pegula started the discussion, saying:
“Someone ended their year very well. Rybakina won. She beat Aryna 6-3, 7-6 (0) in the (WTA) Finals.”
Keys replied:
“She had an insane couple of weeks.”
Pegula then pointed to Rybakina’s statistics to emphasize just how dominant her run was.
“She hit 13 aces and won 67 percent of her first serves. She was serving like a joke,” she said.
Keys later highlighted how well Rybakina performed in the Asian swing leading up to the WTA Finals. She said: “She won Ningbo, she semied Tokyo, and then just won the year-end.”
“That’s not bad. And then she went undefeated. She won undefeated and she wins $5.3 million. Wow!” Pegula replied.
The hefty payout, particularly the moment mentioned by Pegula, seemingly left the other three astounded, with Keys playfully asking:
“We are jealous?”
I love pegula so much lol… she’s just chill…praising rybakina even after that tough loss..class❤️also jenni is so funny 😂pic.twitter.com/73nY2hP9F0
— MariahSal🩹 (@mariahSal_99) November 12, 2025
Rybakina’s triumph in Riyadh made waves not just for her dominance on court but also for the record-breaking prize that came with it. Her near $5.2 million payout even outstripped the payout awaiting the ATP Finals champion in Turin, valued at $5,071,000. Even the likes of Pegula, Billie Jean King, and other tennis stars took note of that payout and reacted on Instagram.
