The 2025 women’s tennis season could not have had a more fitting finale than what we witnessed in Riyadh last week, as Elena Rybakina rose above a highly-competitive field to win her biggest title since Wimbledon 2022 at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old Kazakh went undefeated through the group stage before knocking out fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals and World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final to pocket $5.235 million – the largest payout in women’s tennis history.
“It's definitely a huge amount and honestly, I didn't think about any of that so much, but of course it’s great and we definitely need to celebrate really well with the team, family and everyone,” said Rybakina on Saturday.
Record prize money aside, this year’s WTA Finals delivered quality matches that perfectly conveyed the story of the season, where a core group of top-ranked women dominated the big stage and breathed new fire into the rivalries between them.
Here’s a look at the eight players that competed in Riyadh and where they stand heading into 2026.
Aryna Sabalenka (World No 1)
It took a flawless serving performance from Rybakina to stop Sabalenka from clinching a maiden WTA Finals crown.
And while she heads into the offseason having secured the year-end No 1 ranking for a second consecutive campaign, Sabalenka will no doubt spend some time thinking about the five finals she lost in 2025.
The 27-year-old Belarusian added four trophies to her resume this year – including a fourth major title at the US Open – and topped the leaderboard with the most wins (63) on the WTA Tour.
But looking ahead, Sabalenka, who is an incredible competitor, will have to find ways to manage her emotions in big matches on a more consistent basis, and stay composed when her opponents start red-lining against her. She’s the world No 1 for a reason and players will keep coming at her. It’s the ultimate sign of respect and she’ll have to be ready for it.
“The good thing is that I'm always there. The bad thing this season, I lost most of the biggest finals I made,” said Sabalenka on Saturday. “So, I guess I'll just sit back in the Maldives, and think back and try to analyse my behaviour, my emotions and think that actually it's been pretty good so far. I just need to get little bit better with myself a little bit more, and hopefully next season I'll improve.”
Iga Swiatek (world No 2)
Swiatek tried to explain why she wasn’t able to make it through the group stage in Riyadh and was stumped.
The Polish star had a perfect opener in the WTA Finals, dropping just three games to Madison Keys. She led by a set in each of her second and third matches but lost both, to Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova, respectively.
As a player renowned for being a ruthless frontrunner, losing from a winning position did not sit well with her.
But when the dust settles, Swiatek can look back and be proud of her season, in which she conquered her least favourite surface – grass – by winning Wimbledon, and significantly improved her serve.
She heads into 2026 hanging on firmly to her No 2 spot and has a shot at completing the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.
Her challenge moving forward would be balancing the aggression she added to her game in the last couple of seasons with her supreme defensive skills, which has always been her bread and butter.
Coco Gauff (World No 3)
Gauff started her title defence in Riyadh with a three-set loss to Pegula that saw the 21-year-old American commit 17 double faults.
With her serve still a work in progress under the guidance of her new biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, Gauff is still searching for that flow on what eventually could become a truly devastating shot.
She didn’t advance to the semi-finals in the Saudi capital, but the opening set of her loss to Sabalenka in the group stage showed promising signs of what we can expect from Gauff next season.
“I would like to serve faster,” said Gauff when asked if her impressive serving in the first set against Sabalenka is how she’d like to be serving moving forward.
“But I feel after my first match, I had to take some pace off and just focus on hitting it high, like heavy kicks in the court. But I would like to mix in more flat and mix in more slider wides and things like that.
“With the serve, I feel like it was a good step. But I feel like that type of serving is what I can do when I feel like on an off day, but not how I would like to be on like an A-plus day.
“I just feel like my game is getting better. And I feel like I'm a step in the right direction. And I just want everything to mesh at one point so I can feel completely comfortable on the court.”
Amanda Anisimova (World No 4)
The only WTA Finals debutante in the field, Anisimova had a stellar week in the kingdom, reaching the semi-finals before losing a heartbreaking three-setter to Sabalenka.
The 24-year-old American finished the year playing brave and powerful tennis and can only take confidence from her 2025.
She said she feels like she belongs at the very top of the game and is certainly acting like it. Watch out for Anisimova in Australia!
Elena Rybakina (World No 5)
After months of ups and downs and drama surrounding her coach Stefano Vukov, who was suspended for breaking the WTA Code of Conduct, Rybakina caught fire in the last four weeks of the season, finishing the year on an 11-match winning streak.
She reminded everyone why she was once considered a key member of the WTA’s ‘Big Three’, alongside Sabalenka and Swiatek, and has moved back up to No 5 in the world.
If she keeps serving the way she did in Riyadh, and carry the confidence and momentum forward, she’ll be a top major contender in 2026.
Jessica Pegula (World No 6)
Some of the best matches of the week in Riyadh all featured Pegula.
The 31-year-old American is a master tactician and manages to turn any contest into a chess match.
She posted wins over each of the top three – Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff – this season and went down swinging against Rybakina in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals.
She sounds hungrier than ever to keep making improvements to her game and is expected to remain a consistent presence in the latter stages at all the big events.
Madison Keys (World No 7)
A virus hampered Keys’ performance in Riyadh, and the two-month break she took prior to the tournament to nurse an adductor injury didn’t help either.
But despite that, Keys put up a great fight against Anisimova in her second match before opting out of her third due to illness.
After starting the year with a title triumph at the Australian Open, Keys struggled to keep the momentum throughout her campaign.
She’ll head to Melbourne as the defending champion in January and is already thinking of ways to manage the pressure there.
“I think the biggest thing is getting to the point where it's not about not feeling the pressure, but knowing how to navigate through it,” she said in Riyadh.
Jasmine Paolini (World No 8)
Another player struck with illness last week, Paolini won just one of her six matches across singles and doubles at the WTA Finals.
It was bad luck for the Italian who spent five weeks in China prior to the event – a stretch that saw her guide her country to the Billie Jean King Cup title in Shenzhen, as well as make the quarters in Beijing, and the semis in Wuhan and Ningbo.
Paolini looked exhausted in Riyadh and needs a proper rest.
But once she’s got some R&R, she’ll start her preseason training knowing she’s firmly established herself among the top eight over the past two years and can keep up with the best of them on tour.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
Kanye%20West
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Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
New Zealand 57-0 South Africa
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
