Riyadh, Nov. 9 -- Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 7-6 (0) to become the first Asian player ever to win the WTA Finals singles title on Saturday night.
Sabalenka held a better head-to-head record of 8-5 heading into Saturday's final, with their most recent meeting being in this year's Wuhan Open quarterfinals, where Sabalenka prevailed in straight sets. Since then, Rybakina has been riding a 10-match winning streak on the tour.
In the opening set, both players held serve through the first five games before Rybakina broke in the sixth, winning four points in a row. Despite facing two break points in the next game, she held firm behind powerful serves and aggressive ...