Elena Rybakina Defeats Sabalenka to Secure Record £4m Reward

Tennis Play

Elena Rybakina sealed her forty-fifth hard court win of the year

Elena Rybakina claimed the largest payday in WTA all time by overcoming top-ranked Sabalenka in two sets at the tournament.

The 26-year-old delivered a stunning display to overcome four-time Grand Slam winner her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.

Since each competitor advanced through the tournament undefeated, the reward on offer was a unprecedented £3.98 million – the biggest prize offering in WTA the sport's history.

The prize money exceeds the £3.74 million the Belarusian won for claiming September's US Open, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in the current year.

"This has been an incredible tournament," commented the Kazakh player.

"Truly didn't expect this outcome so to reach the final was just incredible."

"I want to say praise to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year running, it's an tremendous achievement."

The champion, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered sixteen winning shots during a dominant first-set display.

Rybakina fended off two chances before taking every point in the sixth game of the set to go a break up and served out to win the first set.

With the second set on serve, the world number one saved two break points at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favor.

However, having worked so hard to upset Rybakina's rhythm, Sabalenka failed to capitalize by squandering a pair of chances in the following game to tie the set at 5-5.

Her inability to level the match impacted her tie-break performance, with the Kazakh winning all seven points to win the title.

The victory, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will move up one place in the WTA rankings to number five in the world.

A distraught the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her coaching team soon after the final.

"It was not the finest display from me today but Elena you were certainly the better player," Sabalenka addressed the audience.

"You really overpowered me on court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this beautiful title."

Kelly Wise
Kelly Wise

A passionate gamer and tech writer with over 8 years of experience covering industry trends and game analysis.