Rybakina Upsets Aryna Sabalenka to Secure Record £4m Reward
Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court victory of the year
Rybakina won the largest prize in women's tennis history by overcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in two sets at the tournament.
The 26-year-old produced a impressive display to beat four-times Grand Slam winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Since each competitor came through the event undefeated, the prize money on the table was a historic almost £4 million – the biggest payout offering in WTA the sport's history.
This amount surpasses the £3.74m the Belarusian received for winning the New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"This has been an incredible week," stated Rybakina.
"I honestly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to win the title was just remarkable."
"I want to say congratulations to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year in a row, it's an incredible achievement."
Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered sixteen winning shots during a dominant opening set performance.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner fended off two chances before taking all four points in the sixth game to go a break up and served out to secure the opening set.
As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended another two opportunities at 4-4 to swing the momentum in her favor.
However, after fighting back to upset her opponent's flow, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by wasting a pair of set points in the following game to tie the set at 5-5.
Her inability to force a decider affected her tie-break play, with the Kazakh winning every point to claim the title.
The victory, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means she will rise one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world.
A distraught the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her coaching team shortly after the final.
"That was not the finest display from me in this match but Elena you were definitely the better player," the Belarusian told the crowd.
"You literally overpowered me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful trophy."
