Elena Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Claim Record £4 Million Prize
Elena Rybakina sealed her forty-fifth hard-court victory of the year
Rybakina secured the greatest payday in WTA history by beating top-ranked Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
Rybakina delivered a brilliant display to beat four-time major champion Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Because each competitor advanced through the event without a loss, the reward on offer was a unprecedented almost £4 million – the biggest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.
The reward surpasses the £3.74m the Belarusian earned for claiming the New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"It's been an amazing week," said the Kazakh player.
"I honestly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"Let me offer praise to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an outstanding accomplishment."
The champion, who was the world number six, delivered sixteen winners during a impressive opening set display.
Rybakina fended off two break points before winning 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 two opportunities at four-all to shift the balance in her favor.
However, having worked so hard to disrupt her opponent's flow, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering two set points in the following game to level the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to level the match affected her tie-break performance, with Rybakina winning all seven points to take home the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will move up one spot in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
A distraught Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team soon after the match.
"That was not the best display from me today but Rybakina you were certainly the superior competitor," Sabalenka told the audience.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful title."
