Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka, 7-6, 6-4, Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open.
It was the 23-year-old Rybakina’s first win in five career matches against the Belarusian Sabalenka, including a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Sabalenka victory in January’s Australian Open final.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia and now represents Kazakhstan, is 10th on the Women’s Tennis Association singles rankings and has now won four WTA singles tournaments, including Wimbledon in 2022.
Sabalenka, 24, was the tournament’s second seed and is the second ranked player on the tour, but she fell Sunday to the 10-seeded Rybakina.
The women’s final was followed by the men’s final between Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and Russian Daniil Medvedev. Alcaraz won decisively in two sets, 6-3, 6-2.
The victory returns Alcaraz to the top of the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings, passing Serbian Novak Djokovic. He was ranked first from Sept. 12, 2022-Jan. 29.
Medvedev was a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 winner over Alcaraz in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021, their only previous meeting.
Alcaraz, the tournament’s top seed, beat 11th-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy, 7-6, 6-3, on Saturday.
“I’m really happy with the performance today,” said Alcaraz, who has not lost a set in the tournament. “I’m really happy to get through this great match. Jannik obviously is a really great player with great shots.”
The fifth-seeded Medvedev, defeated 14th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe, 7-5, 7-6(4), in Saturday’s other semifinal for his 19th consecutive victory.
“It was a crazy match,” said Medvedev, who is sixth on the ATP singles rankings. “I still feel not stressed but like it’s definitely better to win like 7-5, 6-3, because then you get the energy level down. That’s fine. I know how to go through it, so that’s not a problem.”
Medvedev is seeking to become the first man to win four titles in five weeks since Andy Murray in 2016.
Djokovic did not play in this year’s tournament because he has not taken the COVID-19 vaccine and is not permitted to enter the United States.
The BNP Paribas Open offers equal prize money for men and women across singles and doubles competitions and has done so since 2012. The singles winners will each receive a little more than $1.2 million. The runners-up will receive a little over half that amount.