Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Win Record £4 Million Reward
Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court triumph of the year
Elena Rybakina secured the greatest prize in women's tennis all time by beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the WTA Finals.
Rybakina delivered a brilliant performance to overcome four-time Grand Slam winner her opponent in two sets in the host country.
Because both players came through the competition without a loss, the purse on offer was a unprecedented £3.98m – the largest payout awarded in women's tennis history.
The prize money surpasses the £3.74m Sabalenka earned for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying major tournament in the current year.
"It's been an incredible week," commented the Kazakh player.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to reach the final was just remarkable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an incredible accomplishment."
Rybakina, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winning shots during a commanding opening set display.
Rybakina saved two chances before taking all four points in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to seal the opening set.
As the second set progressed, the world number one defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
But, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by wasting two set points in the following game to tie the second set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to level the match impacted her tie-break performance, with the Kazakh taking every point to claim the championship.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the rankings to number five in the world rankings.
A distraught Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she met with her team soon after the match.
"That was not the best display from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian told the audience.
"You literally overpowered me on court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful title."
