Rybakina Defeats Sabalenka to Claim Record £4 Million Reward
Elena Rybakina secured her 45th hard court victory of the year
Rybakina claimed the largest reward in WTA history by overcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
Rybakina produced a brilliant display to overcome four-time Grand Slam winner her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.
Because both players came through the competition undefeated, the prize money on the table was a unprecedented £3.98 million – the highest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.
The reward surpasses the £3.74 million Sabalenka earned for claiming September's New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"This has been an incredible week," said the Kazakh player.
"I honestly didn't expect this outcome so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Sabalenka for being number one for a second consecutive year running, it's an incredible achievement."
The champion, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered 16 winning shots during a impressive first-set display.
Rybakina fended off two chances before taking all four points in the sixth game to go a break up and served out to secure the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one defended another two break points at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
However, after fighting back to disrupt Rybakina's rhythm, the top seed failed to capitalize by wasting two chances in the following game to level the set at five-all.
Her inability to level the match impacted her tie-break performance, with the Kazakh winning every point to claim the championship.
This win, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will rise one place in the rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
An emotional the runner-up was seen crying as she sat with her coaching team soon after the match.
"It was not the best performance from me today but Elena you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian told the audience.
"You really smashed me on court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this stunning title."
