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Elena Rybakina secured the biggest payday in women's tennis all time by defeating world number one Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals.

The 26-year-old produced a stunning performance to defeat four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka in two sets in Saudi Arabia.

Since both players advanced through the event without a loss, the reward on offer was a historic almost £4 million – the biggest payout offering in WTA the sport's history.

The reward tops the £3.74m the Belarusian earned for claiming the New York major, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.

"This has been an fantastic tournament," said Rybakina.

"I honestly couldn't have predicted any result so to go so far was just incredible."

"Let me offer praise to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year in a row, it's an outstanding accomplishment."

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

The 2022 Wimbledon winner saved two chances before winning every point in the sixth game of the set to take the break and held her serve to secure the opening set.

As the second set progressed, the world number one defended two break points at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.

However, having worked so hard to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed let her opponent off the hook by squandering a pair of set points in the following game to tie the set at five-all.

Sabalenka's failure to force a decider impacted her tie-break play, with the Kazakh taking all seven points to win the championship.

This win, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the WTA rankings to number five in the world.

A distraught Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her team soon after the final.

"That was not the best performance from me in this match but Elena you were definitely the superior competitor," Sabalenka told the crowd.

"You really overpowered me on court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this stunning trophy."