Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Win Historic £4 Million Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard court victory of the year
Elena Rybakina claimed the greatest reward in women's tennis history by overcoming top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the tournament.
Rybakina produced a brilliant performance to overcome four-times Grand Slam champion her opponent in two sets in Saudi Arabia.
Because each competitor came through the event undefeated, the prize money on offer was a unprecedented £3.98m – the biggest payout awarded in WTA the sport's history.
This amount surpasses the £3.74m the Belarusian received for claiming the New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"This has been an fantastic tournament," commented the Kazakh player.
"Truly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to reach the final was just incredible."
"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second consecutive year in a row, it's an incredible accomplishment."
Rybakina, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winners during a dominant first-set performance.
Rybakina fended off two break points before winning all four points in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and held her serve to secure the opening set.
As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.
However, having worked so hard to disrupt Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of chances in the following game to tie the second set at five-all.
Her inability to level the match impacted her tie-break play, with Rybakina taking all seven points to take home the title.
This win, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will move up one spot in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world rankings.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team soon after the match.
"It was not the finest performance from me in this match but Elena you were certainly the better competitor," the Belarusian addressed the crowd.
"You literally overpowered me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Enjoy this stunning trophy."
