It’s good news for Elena Rybakina, who has just been crowned the new WTA Finals champion after defeating Aryna Sabalenka.
It marked an end to an imperious week for the 26-year-old, who was good value for her title, claiming it without losing a single match.
However, it was what the Belarusian did immediately after the match that caught the eye of Jonathan Overend and Laura Robson, just after Rybakina delivered her post-match championship speech.
Speaking live on Sky Sports, Overend began by noting: “Aryna Sabalenka is sitting in her coaching box surrounded by her team.”
Robson chimed in, revealing: “She also absolutely melted her racket before.”
This prompted Overend to add: “It’s not dissimilar to her reaction at the French Open final when she left the court, and she has left the court again here. She has not gone backstage here as she did there, but she is sitting in her coaching box and she needs her friends and boyfriend is down there and her coach and support staff. They are really having to talk her through it.
“There is a lot of arm waving going on down there.”
Despite a tough loss in the final, Sabalenka’s win over Coco Gauff in the round robin did prompt Chris Evert to laud the level of women’s tennis at the moment.
Aryna Sabalenka is still missing crucial trophies from her cabinet
Whilst Aryna Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam champion and has won another eight Masters 1000 titles, her only triumphs at the former events came on the hard courts of New York and Melbourne.
As the fierce competitor that she is, the lack of successes at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the WTA Finals will be a real point of frustration for her.
Given she has been inarguably the dominant force on the WTA Tour for nearly two years now, it will be frustrating that these crucial accolades elude her.
Fortunately, given she reached the final in Paris, the semi-finals at the All-England Club, and a second final at these WTA Finals, Sabalenka is unsurprisingly showing dangerous form of soon completing her collection.
