Elena Rybakina asked about alleged Aryna Sabalenka remark after WTA Finals clash
Elena Rybakina has revealed that she has “good feelings” for Aryna Sabalenka despite the Belarusian attracting criticism for an alleged remark after their WTA Finals encounter.
In the final official WTA Tour match of the season, Rybakina produced a clinical display to beat world No 1 Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) and lift the WTA Finals title in Riyadh, triumphing at the event for the first time.
It was Rybakina’s first ‘big’ title since her triumph at the 2023 Italian Open, and her unbeaten campaign saw her take home a historic $5,235,000 in prize money.
Both women had embarked on impressive campaigns heading into the final, with top seed Sabalenka picked by many as the favourite ahead of sixth seed Rybakina.
However, while she was the US Open champion in 2025, Sabalenka was handed another big final defeat after prior losses at the Australian Open and French Open earlier in the year.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was evidently disgruntled after losing the final in Riyadh, and went over to her player’s box to vent her frustrations.
Russian speakers on social media revealed that Sabalenka appeared to mutter the Russian saying “once a year even the stick shoots” when talking to her team.
The phrase was apparently said in reference to the nature of Rybakina’s performance, and attracted criticism from some quarters online — though some also came to Sabalenka’s defence.
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However, speaking to Tengri News in a new interview, world No 5 Rybakina revealed that she had not taken offence to the world No 1’s comments.
She said (translated from Russian): “They told me after the match, but it was in context.
“We’ve played with Aryna many times, and more than once this year, so I don’t really focus on it.
“I have good feelings for both Aryna and her team, so I don’t take it to heart, even if it was actually said to me.”
Sabalenka was also playing for a record payday of $5,235,000 at the WTA Finals, having also made the championship match unbeaten.
However, it was Rybakina who made history, with the Kazakh’s prize money payout the biggest ever awarded at an official tennis event.
It topped the $5,000,000 awarded to Carlos Alcaraz and Sabalenka for their US Open triumphs in September, and remained ahead of Jannik Sinner’s payday for his ATP Finals triumph.
Rybakina was asked if she felt it was fair that the WTA Finals offered more prize money than the four Grand Slams, and responded by suggesting that tennis’ biggest events were set to increase their offerings.
“How fair is this? I think we’re aiming for more tournaments to increase their prize pools,” she responded.
“So, I think it’s just a matter of time. In a couple of years, I’m sure other tournaments will follow suit.
“But, of course, the prize money is very large, and I’m incredibly happy that I managed to achieve this result. The previous generation’s struggle to raise the prize money has now begun to bear fruit.
“It seems to me that everything is moving in one direction, and it will become more stable in the future, maybe not in a year or two, but in the future 100 percent.”
Outside of her WTA Finals triumph, Rybakina was also the champion at two WTA 500 events in 2025, lifting the Strasbourg International and Ningbo Open titles.
However, it was a challenging year at times across the biggest events, with the 26-year-old failing to reach a WTA 1000 final or make a Grand Slam quarter-final.
After her stunning triumph in Riyadh, all eyes will be on whether the Kazakh can again establish herself as a significant force in the women’s game in 2026.
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