Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka prize money and ranking points after US Open final
Elena Rybakina confirmed her status as the best player in women’s tennis as she beat her nearest rival Aryna Sabalenka with a clinical performance in the US Open final.
In a repeat of their meeting in the Australian Open final in January, Rybakina saw off Sabalenka with a big-hitting display that was too much for the player she will replace as world No 1 on Monday.
Rybakina looked set to win this match in double quick time as she piled the pressure on Sabalenka and won the first set 6-4, but Sabalenka stormed back to win the second set 7-5.
It didn’t take long for Rybakina to assert her authority again in the deciding set and she closed it out 6-2 despite serving two double faults in the deciding game and ending it with an ace.
This was Rybakina’s first US Open title and her third Grand Slam overall, after she also won the Wimbledon crown in 2022.
More Tennis News
Aryna Sabalenka responds to what Jessica Pegula said about her after their US Open match
Elena Rybakina speaks for the first time after replacing Aryna Sabalenka as the world No 1
The US Open has increased its total prize pool by 20% for 2026, with $108 million up for grabs across all competitions and that was significant for the players who reached the back end of the singles event as their prize money is now eye-watering.
The win secured the Kazakhstani player the biggest prize money haul in the history of the women’s game, as she will receive a $5.5m windfall for this epic victory in New York.
Sabalenka will now end 2026 without any Grand Slam titles, but the blow of losing the world No 1 ranking to Rybakina and another Grand Slam final will be softened by prize money of $2,800,000.
That runners-up prize money is more than Emma Raducanu won when she lifted the US Open title just five years ago, with the huge increases in cash for the players showing no sign of slowing down after they made appeals to be handed a bigger slice of the revenue generated by the four biggest tournaments in tennis.
Rybakina’s win has also bolstered her hold on the world No 1 ranking, with the 2,000 points she collected for this US Open win giving her an imposing advantage of over 2,000 ranking points on new world No 2 Sabalenka.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka is in danger of sliding further down the rankings in the final weeks of this season, with Jessica Pegula 610 points behind her in third place and Coco Gauff a further 21 points behind and very much in striking distance.
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
Rybakina has now won three of the four Grand Slam titles and while clay is her least favourite surface, she will get a chance to join the lost of the game’s all-time greats when she plays at the French Open next year.
That prospect is for another day as right now, Rybakina is the queen of women’s tennis as she toasts a US Open title and her new status as world No 1.
READ NEXT: Aryna Sabalenka makes clinical world No 1 confession after winning epic US Open clash
