Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek maybe didn't make it past the group stage at the WTA Finals but still earned a very notable sum.
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When it was confirmed in early April that the season-ending tournament would go to Riyadh for the next three years, it was also announced that this year's event would feature a historic tournament prize money of $15.2 million.
Even though Rybakina was out for two months, she still easily made the WTA Finals after a strong first half of 2024. And in Riyadh, she lost her opening two matches before beating new world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to finish with a 1-2 record.
On the other side, Swiatek beat Barbora Krejcikova in her opening match and also defeated alternate Daria Kasatkina but the loss to Coco Gauff was costly and she didn't make the semifinal despite a 2-1 record.
For just participating, the stars netted $335k. By winning one match and earning an additional $350k, the Kazakh got $585k while the Pole earned just over one million in Saudi Arabia.
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Rybakina happy to avoid a winless campaign, Swiatek won but it did not matter
After falling short against Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen, the 2022 Wimbledon champion absolutely didn't want to leave Riyadh without registering a single win. And she succeeded in that after beating Sabalenka 6-4 3-6 6-1.
"Im really happy I managed to win. Its nice to finish the year with at least one win against the world No. 1," the 25-year-old Kazakh said afterward.
Following a dominant 6-1 6-0 win over Kasatkina on Thursday, Swiatek learned from reporters that winning or losing against the Russian basically didn't matter because she just needed Coco Gauff to beat Krejcikova.
Um, you mean it didnt matter? Why? What? a stunned 23-year-old asked when asked if she knew the scenarios going into her last match.
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Unfortunately for Swiatek, Gauff didn't beat Krejcikova and her WTA Finals title defense ended.
