Elena Rybakina bested world’s no.2 Aryna Sabalenka to win her first WTA1000 title at the Indian Wells Masters, QazMonitor reports.
She claimed a victory over the Belarusian player with a 7:6(11), 6:4 score closing out the win in two hours and three minutes. The Kazakh player scored seven aces and made two double faults, while her opponent hit four aces and made ten double faults.
Beside the title, Rybakina’s revenge over Sabalenka brought her $1,262,200 in prize money.
Prior to Indian Wells, the rivalry between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka has not been in favor of the Kazakh player, as Rybakina had lost to her opponent in all previous four encounters. The last match was the finals of the Australian Open when Rybakina was short of a victory with a 6:4, 3:6, 4:6 score.