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Elena Rybakina won the largest reward in WTA all time by beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.

The 26-year-old delivered a brilliant display to beat four-times major winner Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in the host country.

Because both players came through the competition without a loss, the purse on offer was a record-breaking almost £4 million – the biggest prize awarded in WTA history.

The prize money exceeds the £3.74 million the Belarusian earned for winning September's New York major, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in 2025.

"This has been an fantastic week," commented the Kazakh player.

"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to reach the final was just remarkable."

"I want to say congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second year in a row, it's an outstanding achievement."

Rybakina, who was the world number six, hit sixteen winning shots during a dominant opening set display.

Rybakina fended off a couple of chances before taking every point in the sixth game to take the break and held her serve to secure the opening set.

As the second set progressed, Sabalenka defended two opportunities at four-all to shift the balance in her favor.

However, after fighting back to disrupt her opponent's flow, Sabalenka let her opponent off the hook by squandering two chances in the following game to level the second set at five-all.

Sabalenka's failure to level the match impacted her tie-break play, with Rybakina taking all seven points to win the title.

This win, her sixth triumph over Sabalenka, means she will move up one place in the rankings to fifth in the world.

An emotional Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her coaching team soon after the final.

"It was not the best display from me in this match but Rybakina you were certainly the superior competitor," Sabalenka told the crowd.

"You really smashed me on court. I'm pleased to see you play your best tennis. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."