Elena Rybakina enjoyed a spectacular week at the WTA Finals in early November, going undefeated to clinch her third title of 2025 along with a massive $5.2 million winner’s cheque. Her dominant run has been one of the standout storylines of the season.

Recently, tennis legend Jimmy Connors shared his thoughts on Rybakina’s earnings, making it clear how he feels about the enormous prize money awarded at the event. His comments added another layer to the ongoing discussion about financial rewards in modern tennis.

Rybakina began her WTA Finals campaign in Riyadh with a confident win over Amanda Anisimova, followed by commanding victories against Iga Swiatek and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the group stage. She carried that momentum into the knockout rounds, defeating Jessica Pegula in the semifinals before overcoming World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a high-stakes final.

Thanks to her flawless run throughout the tournament, the 26-year-old earned a total of $5.2 million in prize money — a figure boosted by an additional $2.5 million bonus awarded for remaining undefeated.

“You know, adding a bonus like that, I kind of like that. It gives the players something you know, not that winning the event and beating the No.1, No.2, No.3 in the world isn’t enough, but little incentives, two and a half million is not a little incentive, but you know that’s pretty amazing.”

“He went on to reflect on Elena Rybakina’s massive earnings, adding that such prize money not only highlights her exceptional season but also underscores the growing financial rewards at the top of women’s tennis.”

“That’s worth going out and saying ‘hey, I gotta stay in shape throughout the whole year now’, you know, to go to (Tour Finals) and be undefeated and play that kind of tennis in November. After everything they’ve been through, the amount of tournaments, the amount of travel, the training and everything, you can see it’s worth it.”

“During his playing days, Connors captured 109 career titles and earned a total of US $8,641,040 in prize money.”

Elena Rybakina shares her plans for spending her massive cheque from the WTA Finals

“For Elena Rybakina, the WTA Finals marked her best performance of the year. Reflecting on her earnings after the tournament, the Kazakh star admitted that she hadn’t given the amount much thought, but was excited to celebrate with her team and family. Speaking at the press conference, she said,”

“Well it’s definitely a huge amount and honestly I didn’t think about any of that so much but of course it’s great and we definitely need to celebrate really well with the team, family and everyone.”

“Overall, Elena Rybakina enjoyed a strong 2025 season. In addition to her triumph at the WTA Finals, she also claimed titles at the Ningbo Open and the Internationaux de Strasbourg.”