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

The 26-year-old produced a impressive display to overcome four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka in two sets in the host country.

Because each competitor advanced through the tournament without a loss, the reward on the table was a unprecedented £3.98 million – the largest prize offering in women's tennis history.

The prize money tops the £3.74 million the Belarusian won for claiming September's US Open, which was the highest-paying Grand Slam in the current year.

"It's been an amazing tournament," said the Kazakh player.

"Truly didn't expect this outcome so to go so far was just unbelievable."

"I want to say congratulations to Sabalenka for being number one for a second year running, it's an incredible achievement."

Rybakina, who was the sixth-ranked player, delivered 16 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 win the first set.

With the second set on serve, the world number one defended another two break points at 4-4 to shift the balance in her favour.

However, after fighting back to upset her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by wasting a pair of set points in the following game to tie the set at 5-5.

Her inability to force a decider impacted her tie-break play, with the Kazakh taking all seven points to win the title.

This win, Rybakina's sixth over Sabalenka, means Rybakina will move up one spot in the rankings to fifth in the world rankings.

An emotional the runner-up was seen crying as she met with her coaching team soon after the final.

"It was not the finest performance from me today but Rybakina you were certainly the better player," the Belarusian addressed the audience.

"You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you at your peak. Celebrate this beautiful trophy."