Elena Rybakina won the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, her first championship of the season and the first WTA 1000 title of her career.
In a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, No.10 seed Rybakina defeated No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(11), 6-4 to win the first tournament of 2023’s Sunshine Double.
“That feels great,” Rybakina stated after the match in her post-match press conference. “It’s been a challenging yet rewarding two weeks for me here.”
Rybakina won her fourth WTA singles title of her career. It is her first major trophy since winning the Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon last summer.
Sabalenka had a 4-0 record against Rybakina, although each match had gone three sets. This time, Rybakina fought through a first-set tiebreak, then held off a late second-set comeback by the World No.2 to earn her maiden victory over Sabalenka.
