World No. 5 Elena Rybakina lifted her first-ever WTA Finals trophy on Saturday, when the 2022 Wimbledon champ upset No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(0) to close out the 2025 tennis calendar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 26-year-old Kazakhstan star — who notably was the final player in the eight-athlete field to secure her tournament spot — capped her run on a winning tear, taking down No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula en route to the 2025 title.
"It's been an incredible week. I honestly didn't expect any result, and to go so far is just incredible," Rybakina said following her championship-winning match.
Handing Sabalenka just her second-ever defeat in the final match of the WTA Finals — and doing so with just the third dropped tie-break in Sabalenka's 2025 season — Rybakina emerged from the end-of-year round-robin tournament without a single loss — earning her a women's tennis-record $5.23 million winner's check.
"She played incredible," Sabalenka said of her opponent, after Rybakina scored an impressive eight aces against the world No. 1 in the clash. "I feel like I did my best today. It didn't work, but I think so many things I have to be proud of. And yeah, I'm leaving this tournament without any disappointment."
Upsets are stealing the show at the 2025 WTA Finals, with world No. 5 Jessica Pegula taking down reigning champion No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 on Sunday before No. 6 Elena Rybakina topped No. 2 Iga Świątek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to open Monday's action at the eight-player, season-ending tennis tournament.
Gauff's well-documented serve struggles plagued Sunday's showdown, with the 2025 French Open winner hitting 17 double faults — including three consecutive misses — en route to the second-set tiebreak.
"Coco is a great champion, great competitor, good friend, so it's always tough playing her," Pegula said afterwards. "I don't think there's any secrets with this group of girls here."
Rybakina then continued the streak of WTA Finals upsets by storming past Świątek on Monday morning, winning 12 out of the last 13 games to humble the 2025 Wimbledon champ after Świątek cruised past No. 7 Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in Saturday's round-robin group stage opener.
Other top seeds rolled in their first tests, with each four-player group's top two finishers advancing to Friday's semifinals.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka dominated No. 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday, with the 2025 US Open winner later saying, "I take this tournament as a regular tournament that I have to win five matches if I want to win the title. So I'm just trying to bring my best tennis and fight for every point."
How to watch the 2025 WTA Finals
Round-robin play continues through Thursday, before the semifinalists battle on Friday for a spot in Saturday's championship match.
All 2025 WTA Finals matches air live on the Tennis Channel.
Tennis governing body finalized its elite 2025 WTA Finals field on Friday, with the sport's eight top-ranked players gearing up to kick off the tournament in Saudi Arabia this weekend, each aiming to claim the the final major trophy of the 2025 season.
World No. 6 Elena Rybakina became the last player to qualify for the Finals, with the 26-year-old Kazakhstani star clinching her spot by reaching the Japan Open semifinals last week — beating out No. 9 Mirra Andreeva in the race to reach Riyadh.
Rybakina joins the previously qualified finalists No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, No. 7 Madison Keys, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Capping a banner year for the States, US stars populate a full half of the end-of-season tournament, with Keys, Pegula, Gauff, and WTA Finals debutant Anisimova comprising the largest US contingent at the competition in more than 20 years.
Gauff enters the round-robin tournament as its reigning champion, with 2023 winner Świątek as the only other title-holder in contention this year.
Where to watch the 2025 WTA Finals
The 2025 WTA Finals start this Saturday and run through November 8th.
Live coverage of the tournament will air on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is back like she never left, following up her brief post-US Open championship recovery break and booking a spot in the 2025 Wuhan Open semifinals by blowing past the tournament's competition with a straight-set victory over No. 9 Elena Rybakina on Friday morning.
With the last three Wuhan Open titles under her belt — 2018, 2019, and 2024 — Sabalenka extended her career tournament record to 20-0 on Friday, as she gears up to take on US star No. 6 Jessica Pegula in the semifinals early Saturday morning.
"Honestly, that's just crazy," Sabalenka said of her success at the WTA 1000 event. "I feel a really great connection with the Chinese fans, I guess. I feel like at home playing in this stadium."
Sabalenka and Pegula aren't the only big names advancing this week, as No. 3 Coco Gauff cruised past unseeded Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-0 to book her own semifinal appearance on Friday.
While the US star had little trouble dispelling her quarterfinals opponent, Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek wasn't so lucky, falling to Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-2 to set up a tight Saturday semifinals clash between Gauff and Paolini.
Sabalenka and Pegula's semi could also go the distance — Pegula is coming off six straight three-set matches dating back to the 2025 China Open, emerging victorious from five of them.
How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open semifinals
Gauff and Paolini will kick off the 2025 Wuhan Open semifinals at 5 AM ET on Saturday, with Sabalenka taking on Pegula shortly after the first match.
The semifinal winners will then battle for the championship trophy on Sunday.
Live coverage of the semifinals and final will air on the Tennis Channel.
Tennis star Iga Świątek can cross another item off her bucket list, with the world No. 3 downing No. 10 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the 2025 Cincinnati Open final — Świątek's first-ever championship appearance at the US Open tune-up tournament.
"At the beginning, the level was pretty crazy," the six-time Grand Slam winner told reporters after Sunday's match, commending Rybakina. "But I was there to play with intensity, good quality, and I'm happy with the performance."
One of only two WTA 1000 events without a Świątek finals appearance, the annual Cincinnati Open has seen the Polish tennis star advance to the semifinals in both 2023 and 2024 — falling both times to the eventual tournament champion.
With No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Coco Gauff both making quarterfinal exits, Świątek will next face No. 9 Jasmine Paolini in Monday's final, after the Italian contender fought past No. 36 Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 in their Sunday afternoon semifinal.
Świątek last shared a finals court with Paolini at the 2024 French Open, with Świątek going on to lift her fourth Roland Garros trophy following a straight-set victory in the clash.
How to watch the 2025 Cincinnati Open final
The 2025 Cincinnati Open final between Świątek and Paolini kicks off at 6 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.
The 2025 Canadian Open wrapped up with a storybook ending in Montréal, as 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko earned her first-ever WTA Tour title by defeating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in Thursday's final.
"I would have never thought that I would have made it to the final, let alone win the tournament," Mboko said after battling back to take down Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. "It just proves that your dreams are closer than they [seem]."
The largely unexpected final matchup capped a 2025 Canadian Open that saw every seeded player fall, with Mboko putting together a dream run that included ousting four Grand Slam champions — Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff.
Thursday saw Mboko become just the third-ever Canadian to win the event, plus the teen phenom made tennis history as only the third wild-card entrant to ever claim victory in a WTA 1000 tournament.
As for Osaka, despite falling just short of the finish line, the 2025 Canadian Open was a distinct return to form for the fan favorite, who put together her most successful tournament run in three years in Montréal this week.
Both finalists earned a significant rankings bump with their performances this week, with Osaka rising to world No. 25 while Mboko, who started the 2025 season outside the WTA's Top 350, skyrocketed to No. 24.
Having withdrawn from the 2025 Cincinnati Open due to the near-impossible turnaround between Thursday's final in Montréal and their Saturday matches in Ohio, both Mboko and Osaka will enjoy some much-deserved rest before gearing up for the season's final Grand Slam — the 2025 US Open.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka has found her stride at the 2025 Canadian Open, with the 27-year-old fan favorite advancing to the Montréal tournament's quarterfinals as she prepares to chase a third US Open title later this month.
After parting ways with coach Patrick Mouratoglou just 10 days ago, world No. 49 Osaka will contend in her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in three years on Tuesday, when she'll face off against Ukraine's No. 13 Elina Svitolina for a spot in the semifinals.
"I think I need to pace myself and go for the mini goals, and they'll eventually turn into the big goals," the Japanese star said after topping Latvia's No. 26 Jeļena Ostapenko in the third round on Friday.
Tuesday's other quarterfinal sees US star and 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys on the Canadian court, as the world No. 8 takes on No. 19 Clara Tauson after the Danish national upset reigning French Open champion No. 3 Iga Świątek in straight sets on Sunday.
Already punching their tickets to the semifinals are Kazakhstan's No. 12 Elena Rybakina and 18-year-old phenom No. 85 Victoria Mboko — the youngest home-grown semifinalist in Canadian Open history — who each advanced with straight-set victories on Monday.
How to watch Osaka at the Canadian Open quarterfinals
Keys and Tauson will kick off Tuesday's quarterfinals action at 6 PM ET, with Osaka clashing with Svitolina shortly afterward.
Live coverage of the 2025 Canadian Open will continue to air on the Tennis Channel.
The WTA Tour's biggest names are prepping for a challenge, eyeing next Monday's start of the Wimbledon Grand Slam while watching the sport's dark horses dominate the grass court.
Wimbledon's 2023 champ Markéta Vondroušová stole the spotlight this weekend, as the injury-plagued Czech pro earned her first title in two years at the 2025 Berlin Open.
Even more, the world No. 91 player claimed the trophy in style, taking down top tennis stars like world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 6 Madison Keys, and No. 12 Diana Shnaider en route to besting China's No. 33 Wang Xinyu in Sunday's back-and-forth three-set final.
"I feel like it could not have been better for us here," the 25-year-old said after the win. "We were all working really hard to get me back [from an August 2024 shoulder surgery] and I felt like, you know, we came here to try to win the first match and now this is happening. So I'm just very grateful to be standing here."
Vondroušová will look to ride the weekend's momentum to a potential second Wimbledon trophy, a title that has so far eluded every player currently ranked in the WTA's Top 10 — including Sabalenka, No. 2 Coco Gauff, and No. 8 Iga Świątek.
Of the sport's current elite tier of players, only Italy's No. 4 Jasmine Paolini has appeared in the London Grand Slam's final, falling to Czechia's No. 17 Barbora Krejčíková in the 2024 title match.
The highest-ranked previous Wimbledon champion is Kazakhstan's No. 11 Elena Rybakina, who hoisted the trophy in 2022.
The tennis season’s final Grand Slam gets underway today, when the US Open takes the hardcourt in Queens, New York. Topping last year’s record-setting prize pool by $10 million, this year’s $75 million purse means the singles champion will walk away with $3.6 million.
Led by Gauff, US women chase history
With 21 US women in this year's draw — including five ranked in the WTA’s Top 15 — domestic fans are eyeing another trophy after world No. 3 Coco Gauff became the first US teen since 1999 to win the Slam last year. This time around, Gauff is hunting more history: If she repeats, she’ll become the first back-to-back US title-winner since Serena Williams’s 2012-14 three-peat.
That said, Gauff's recent early exits from Wimbledon, the Olympics, and last week’s Cincinnati Open have placed other stars in the US Open spotlight.
A US player has yet to feature in a Grand Slam final in 2024, and contenders like world No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 11 Danielle Collins, and No. 14 Madison Keys are all looking to right that ship.
Top stars aim to avoid more 2024 upsets
In a season rife with upsets — from No. 26 Leylah Annie Fernandez beating No. 4 Elena Rybakina in Cincinnati to No. 24 Donna Vekić ousting Gauff at the Olympics — this Slam is anyone’s to take.
After missing Wimbledon and the Olympics, reigning Australian Open champ No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is this year's favorite after falling to Gauff in the 2023 final, though No. 1 Iga Świątek could pose a problem in Sabalenka's hunt. The Polish phenom already knows how to win this Slam, having taken the 2022 US Open trophy. If victorious again, the 23-year-old will have six major titles to her name.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's No. 4 Elena Rybakina will aim to break her US Open curse of falling by the Round of 32, but a season wracked with illness, early exits, and personnel trouble could set her off course.
The field could also see a fresh face like Buffalo product Pegula or China’s 2024 Olympic gold medalist No. 7 Qinwen Zheng lifting hardware at Arthur Ashe next month.
How to watch the US Open
The 2024 US Open's main draw kicks off today at 11 AM ET, with live coverage across ABC and ESPN networks.
Just days after claims of sexism headlined the women’s tournament at the Madrid Open, this week’s Italian Open earned its own share of criticism.
The chaos in Rome culminated with the women’s singles final late on Saturday night. The match started at 11 p.m. following rain delays and two men’s semifinals that ended up headlining the night.
Shortly after midnight, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan won the women’s title when Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury. But confusion ensued during the awards presentation, when event organizers announced the winner before the runner-up (the opposite of protocol) and Rybakina had to ask for her own trophy.
Former Australian pro Rennae Stubbs called it the “worst trophy presentation” she had ever seen.
Officially the worst trophy presentation i have ever seen, In my life!!!! Honesty i need to take a Xanax after these last three weeks!!! What the hell is happening!???
— Rennae Stubbs 🟦👍🏼 (@rennaestubbs) May 20, 2023
If anyone was surprised at the treatment of the women’s event, they shouldn’t have been. After all, the women’s prize pool at this year’s Italian Open was less than half of the men’s ($3.9 million vs. $8.5 million).
Rybakina walked away with $564,000 for winning the women’s title, while Daniil Medvedev earned nearly $1.2 million for his victory on Sunday. Even men’s runner-up Holger Rune earned more for his loss ($627,000) than Rybakina did for her victory.
Italian Open organizers say they intend to begin paying men and women equal prize money — but not until 2025.