This Week in Tennis: Rybakina Wins WTA Finals

Welcome to This Week in Tennis, where we catch up on all the latest and biggest stories from the ATP and WTA Tours.

Rybakina Last Woman Standing at WTA Finals

Elena Rybakina was the last woman to qualify for the WTA Finals. She didn’t let that position stop her, as she was the last woman standing in Riyadh after defeating world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) to capture the WTA Finals title.

The 26-year-old finished off a solid 2025 season in which she won three titles, adding the WTA Finals to trophies in Strasbourg and Ningbo. Her 58-19 record makes it her strongest season on tour thus far in her career.

Rybakina finishes the season on an 11-match winning streak, excluding her withdrawal from the semifinals in Tokyo due to a back injury.

The 2022 Wimbledon Champion defeated Amanda Anisimova and Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets while also scoring a comeback three-set win over Iga Swiatek to win the Serena Williams group. She would go on to beat Jessica Pegula and Sabalenka in the knockout stages to finish off the 2025 season in style.

“All that happened this week, I can bring to the next season. It gives me so much more motivation to work even more because we [made] good progress in the little blocks between the tournaments,” Rybakina said of her success in Riyadh. “I’ll try to carry every positive thing from this tournament into my next big matches.”

Djokovic wins 101st Title in Athens

Novak Djokovic captured the 101st title of his career on Saturday, beating Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a three-set marathon that lasted three hours.

It’s the 72nd hard-court title for the 38-year-old, who finished his 2025 season with two titles.

“An incredible battle. Three hours of a gruelling match, physically,” Djokovic said. “It could have been anybody's match, so congrats to Lorenzo for an amazing performance. I’m just very proud of myself to get through this one.”

Following the victory, the Serbian announced his withdrawal from the ATP Finals in Turin due to ongoing injury issues. As a result, Musetti, who needed to win the tournament to overtake Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime for a spot in Turin, will replace Djokovic in the ATP Finals.

Elsewhere on tour, teenager Learner Tien earned the first ATP title of his career, defeating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) in Metz.