Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court victory of the year
Elena Rybakina won the greatest reward in women's tennis history by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old produced a stunning performance to beat four-time major champion her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.
Since each competitor advanced through the competition undefeated, the reward on offer was a unprecedented £3.98m – the biggest prize awarded in women's tennis the sport's history.
The prize money exceeds the £3.74m Sabalenka earned for winning the US Open, which was the most lucrative Grand Slam in the current year.
"This has been an incredible tournament," stated the Kazakh player.
"Truly couldn't have predicted any result so to go so far was just unbelievable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year running, it's an outstanding accomplishment."
Rybakina, who was the world number six, hit 16 winning shots during a dominant first-set display.
Rybakina saved a couple of break points before taking all four points in the sixth game to take the break and served out to seal the first set.
As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended two break points at four-all to swing the momentum in her favour.
But, having worked so hard to disrupt her opponent's flow, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of set points in the next game to level the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh winning all seven points to take home the title.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she sat with her team shortly after the match.
"That was not the best display from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the superior competitor," Sabalenka told the audience.
"You really smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful title."
