Elena Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Win Record £4m Reward
Elena Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court triumph of the year
Rybakina won the greatest payday in WTA all time by beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
Rybakina delivered a impressive performance to beat four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka in two sets in the host country.
Because each competitor advanced through the competition without a loss, the reward on the table was a historic £3.98m – the largest prize offering in women's tennis the sport's history.
The prize money tops the £3.74 million Sabalenka received for claiming September's New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in the current year.
"It's been an amazing tournament," stated the Kazakh player.
"Truly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just incredible."
"I want to say praise to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year in a row, it's an outstanding achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered sixteen winners during a dominant opening set display.
Rybakina saved two chances before winning every point in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to seal the first set.
As the second set progressed, the world number one defended another two break points at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
However, 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 following game to tie the second set at five-all.
Her inability to level the match affected her tie-break performance, with Rybakina winning all seven points to claim the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one spot in the rankings to fifth in the world.
A distraught the runner-up was seen crying as she sat with her coaching team shortly after the match.
"It was not the finest performance from me today but Rybakina you were certainly the superior competitor," the Belarusian addressed the crowd.
"You really overpowered me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Enjoy this beautiful title."
