On a night packed with power, poise, and a dash of unexpected drama, Elena Rybakina carved her name into season-ending glory. In Riyadh, with her 6-3,7-6(0) win over the current world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, she became the first player representing Kazakhstan and an Asian country overall to win the WTA Finals. But as the confetti settled and the cameras flashed with her maiden WTA Finals crowd, a different story began to swirl beyond the boundaries of the court.

After the match, cameras caught Sabalenka in tears while microphones picked up her trash-talking her opponent. Shortly after smashing her racket out of rage, she vented out her frustration, saying, “ Once a year, even the stick shoots. “ This is actually a Russian idiom that implies she believes Rybakina’s vic

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