Elena Rybakina Defeats Aryna Sabalenka to Secure Historic £4 Million Reward
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court victory of the year
Elena Rybakina secured the greatest payday in WTA history by overcoming top-ranked Sabalenka in straight sets at the tournament.
The 26-year-old produced a brilliant display to defeat four-times Grand Slam winner her opponent in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Since each competitor advanced through the event without a loss, the prize money on offer was a record-breaking almost £4 million – the highest prize offering in women's tennis history.
The reward tops the £3.74 million Sabalenka earned for claiming September's US Open, which was the most lucrative Grand Slam in the current year.
"This has been an incredible week," commented Rybakina.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to win the title was just remarkable."
"Let me offer praise to Sabalenka for being number one for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an outstanding achievement."
The champion, who was the world number six, hit 16 winning shots during a dominant first-set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved a couple of chances before taking all four points in the sixth game to go a break up and held her serve to seal the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one saved another two opportunities at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
But, after fighting back to upset her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by wasting a pair of chances in the following game to level the second set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh taking all seven points to win the championship.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will rise one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world.
A distraught the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her team soon after the final.
"That was not the best performance from me in this match but Elena you were certainly the better competitor," the Belarusian told the audience.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Enjoy this beautiful title."
