Rybakina achieved another special feat on Saturday, too.
In a year where Sabalenka dominated the rankings from start to finish—she was ranked No. 1 every single week of the 2025 season—Rybakina was the only player who managed to beat her twice, defeating her in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati and now in the final of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
And she very nearly got Sabalenka three times, holding quadruple match point up 6-2 in the third set tie-break of their quarterfinal thriller in Berlin, on grass, before Sabalenka fought back to sneak the breaker out, 8-6.
Sabalenka’s other 10 losses in 2025 came to different players—Madison Keys (Australian Open), Ekaterina Alexandrova (Doha), Clara Tauson (Dubai), Mirra Andreeva (Indian Wells), Jelena Ostapenko (Stuttgart), Zheng Qinwen (Rome), Coco Gauff (Roland Garros), Marketa Vondrousova (Berlin), Amanda Anisimova (Wimbledon) and Jessica Pegula (Wuhan).
