Caroline Garcia won the biggest title of her career so far by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the WTA Finals in Texas.
The 29-year-old prevailed 7-6[4] 6-4 after one hour and 41 minutes to take home the trophy and is set to rise to fourth in the WTA rankings after a difficult start to the year.
Despite hitting 10 aces in the first set, Garcia came up against a resilient Sabalenka, who forced a tie-break but could not recover after falling 5-2 down courtesy of a pair of double faults.
Garcia then broke in the first game of the second set and maintained her one-game advantage throughout, although she was taken to deuce on serve in the final game before managing to hold for the win.
"Sometimes there is a big fight, so you have to find your way through it and that was one of the biggest points I improved. Today one of the most important things was to stay calm and jump on every opportunity," Garcia said on the court after her victory.
"It was a great match. I really went for it. A crazy final, a lot of intensity on every point. Just really proud of the work we did throughout the year. I'm really happy to win my biggest title."
Garcia has now won 11 titles on the WTA tour - including four in 2022 - while Sabalenka has lost three finals on the bounce but will rise to world number five.
Ben Knapton
