Rybakina Stuns Sabalenka to Win Historic £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court victory of the year
Rybakina secured the greatest prize in women's tennis all time by beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.
The 26-year-old produced a impressive display to overcome four-times major winner Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because both players advanced through the competition undefeated, the prize money on offer was a record-breaking £3.98 million – the highest payout awarded in WTA the sport's history.
This amount tops the £3.74 million the Belarusian received for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in the current year.
"This has been an amazing week," commented the Kazakh player.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say praise to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year running, it's an outstanding achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered sixteen winners during a commanding opening set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off a couple of break points before taking every point in the sixth game to go a break up and served out to seal the first set.
With the second set on serve, the world number one defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favour.
But, having worked so hard to upset her opponent's flow, Sabalenka failed to capitalize by squandering two set points in the next game to level the second set at 5-5.
Her inability to force a decider impacted her tie-break play, with Rybakina winning all seven points to take home the championship.
This win, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will move up one place in the rankings to fifth in the world.
An emotional the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her team soon after the final.
"It was not the best performance from me in this match but Rybakina you were certainly the superior player," Sabalenka addressed the crowd.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Enjoy this stunning trophy."
