Elena Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Claim Historic £4m Reward
Elena Rybakina secured her 45th hard-court victory of the year
Elena Rybakina secured the biggest payday in women's tennis history by beating top-ranked Sabalenka in straight sets at the tournament.
The 26-year-old delivered a stunning performance to overcome four-times Grand Slam winner Sabalenka in two sets in the host country.
Since both players advanced through the event without a loss, the prize money on the table was a record-breaking £3.98m – the highest payout offering in WTA the sport's history.
This amount exceeds the £3.74m the Belarusian received for claiming the New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"It's been an amazing tournament," said the Kazakh player.
"I honestly didn't expect any result so to win the title was just unbelievable."
"I want to say praise to Sabalenka for holding the top spot for a second year running, it's an tremendous achievement."
The champion, who was the world number six, delivered sixteen winning shots during a dominant opening set display.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved two chances before taking all four points in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and held her serve to secure the opening set.
With the second set on serve, Sabalenka saved another two break points at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favour.
However, after fighting back to upset Rybakina's rhythm, the top seed failed to capitalize by wasting a pair of chances in the following game to level the second set at five-all.
Her inability to level the match impacted her tiebreak performance, with the Kazakh winning every point to claim the title.
The victory, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means she will rise 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 finest display from me in this match but Rybakina you were definitely the better player," Sabalenka addressed the audience.
"You literally overpowered me on court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."
