Rybakina Stuns Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4m Prize
Elena Rybakina secured her forty-fifth hard court triumph of the year
Elena Rybakina secured the largest payday in WTA all time by overcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the championship.
Rybakina produced a stunning performance to beat four-time Grand Slam champion her opponent in two sets in the host country.
Because both players advanced through the event undefeated, the reward on the table was a unprecedented £3.98m – the biggest prize awarded in women's tennis the sport's history.
This amount surpasses the £3.74 million the Belarusian earned for claiming the New York major, which was the highest-paying major tournament in the current year.
"This has been an amazing week," commented Rybakina.
"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 consecutive year in a row, it's an incredible achievement."
The champion, who was the world number six, delivered 16 winning shots during a impressive opening set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off a couple of break points before taking all four points in the sixth game to go a break up and held her serve to secure the first set.
As the second set progressed, the world number one defended two break points at four-all to shift the balance in her favor.
However, after fighting back to disrupt Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by wasting two set points in the following game to tie the second set at five-all.
Her inability to force a decider impacted her tiebreak play, with Rybakina winning all seven points to claim the championship.
This win, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will move up one spot in the WTA rankings to number five in the world rankings.
An emotional the runner-up appeared to be in tears as she met with her team soon after the final.
"It was not the best performance from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the better player," Sabalenka addressed the crowd.
"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Celebrate this beautiful title."