Elena Rybakina Stuns Aryna Sabalenka to Claim Record £4 Million Payout
Elena Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court victory of the year
Elena Rybakina won the largest prize in WTA all time by beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.
The 26-year-old produced a impressive display to beat four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because each competitor came through the tournament undefeated, the purse on offer was a historic almost £4 million – the largest payout offering in women's tennis history.
This amount exceeds the £3.74m the Belarusian received for claiming September's US Open, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"This has been an incredible tournament," commented the Kazakh player.
"Truly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year in a row, it's an outstanding accomplishment."
The champion, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winning shots during a commanding opening set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off a couple of chances before winning every point in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and held her serve to win the opening set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
However, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by squandering two set points in the following game to level the set at five-all.
Her inability to force a decider affected her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh taking every point to claim the championship.
This win, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will rise one spot in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
An emotional Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she met with her team shortly after the match.
"That was not the best display from me today but Elena you were definitely the better player," Sabalenka told the audience.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this stunning title."
