Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Secure Historic £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina earned her 45th hard-court victory of the year
Elena Rybakina secured the biggest payday in WTA history by defeating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
Rybakina delivered a impressive performance to beat four-time major winner her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.
Since each competitor advanced through the event undefeated, the purse on the table was a unprecedented almost £4 million – the biggest payout offering in WTA history.
This amount tops the £3.74 million Sabalenka earned for claiming September's US Open, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"It's been an incredible week," said Rybakina.
"Truly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to win the title was just remarkable."
"Let me offer congratulations to Sabalenka for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year running, it's an tremendous accomplishment."
The champion, who was the world number six, hit 16 winning shots during a commanding opening set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved two break points before taking all four points in the sixth game of the set to take the break and served out to win the opening set.
With the second set on serve, Sabalenka saved another two break points at four-all to shift the balance in her favour.
However, having worked so hard to disrupt Rybakina's rhythm, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by squandering two set points in the next game to level the set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh taking all seven points to take home the title.
The victory, her sixth triumph over her rival, means she will move up one spot in the rankings to fifth in the world.
A distraught the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she met with her team soon after the final.
"That was not the finest performance from me today but Elena you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian addressed the crowd.
"You literally overpowered me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."
