Elena Rybakina clinched her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022 by defeating world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Saturday.
The world No 6 put on yet another serving masterclass and was at her returning best as she became the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian country to lift the WTA Finals singles trophy.
Having gone 3-0 in round-robin play, Rybakina earned a record $5.235 million and will finish the year ranked No 5 in the world.
The ace leader on tour with 516 struck this season, Rybakina fired 13 against Sabalenka on Saturday, and finished the week with a total of 48 in Riyadh.
Rybakina was the last of the eight players in the singles field to qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, and she did it by winning the 500-level title in Ningbo and reaching the semi-finals in Tokyo before withdrawing from the tournament.
Her winning streak now stands at 11 matches and she improved her head-to-head record against Sabalenka to 6-8.
“It's been an incredible week,” said Rybakina. “I honestly didn't expect any result so to go so far was just incredible.
“I want to say congratulations to Aryna for being number one for a second year in a row, it's an incredible achievement.”
Squaring off for the 14th time, Sabalenka and Rybakina form one of the most gripping rivalries of the WTA, dating back to 2019.
Rybakina entered the final carrying a 10-match winning streak. The last player to beat her was Sabalenka, who knocked out the Kazakh in the Wuhan quarter-finals four weeks ago.
Both players brought their A-game from the start, showcasing their signature brand of boom-boom tennis to stay neck and neck through the first five games.
It was Rybakina's defence though that paid off in game six, her desperate lob drawing the error from Sabalenka, who netted the overhead to get broken.
That one break was all Rybakina needed to secure the opening set in 44 minutes.
Rybakina was untouchable on serve in the second set, dropping just two points on serve through four service games.
Sabalenka was more vulnerable in that department, feeling the pressure on her own serve but still finding ways to save four break points, including two crucial ones at 4-4.
Against the momentum, Sabalenka suddenly got her hands on two set points on Rybakina's serve in game 10 but the Kazakh stood her ground to level for 5-5.
The set fittingly went to a tiebreak, and despite her remarkable 22-2 tiebreak record for the season, Sabalenka couldn't halt Rybakina, who sealed the deal after one hour and 47 minutes of play.
Despite the loss, Sabalenka set a new WTA Tour record for most prize money earned in a single season, her $15,008,519 surpassing the $12,385,572 Serena Williams made in 2013.
“It was not the best performance from me today but Elena you were definitely the better player,” Sabalenka said.
“You literally smashed me out of the court. I'm happy to see you play your best tennis. Enjoy this beautiful trophy.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Our Time Has Come
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