Caroline Garcia claimed the biggest title of her career by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the WTA Finals in Texas.
The French star bested the Belarusian seventh seed 7-6, 6-4 in Fort Worth.
The 29-year-old was ranked outside the top 70 in June but after four title wins and a run to the US Open semi-finals in September, she rose to a career-high fourth in the WTA rankings.
Garcia is the second French player to win the WTA title following Amelie Mauresmo in 2005 and the fourth player to win the event after turning 29, following Martina Navratilova (1986), Jana Novotna (1997) and Serena Williams (2012, 2013, 2014).
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"It was a great match. I really went for it," said sixth seed Garcia.
"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.
"Sometimes you are emotional or things don't go your way."
"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."
In an intense first set, neither player conceded a break point but a double fault from Sabalenka during the tie-break allowed Garcia to take the initiative. Garcia then broke her opponent’s serve at the start of the second set before holding her own to win the match.
After she received the trophy, Garcia had some kind words for Sabalenka. She said: “You bring so much energy on the court every time, it's always a pleasure to watch.
“It's great to have all your energy in women's tennis. We really appreciate it.”
Sabalenka, who rose to fifth in the WTA rankings, looked ahead to future title tussles with Garcia.
“Caro, I really hate you right now but you played unbelievable tennis, not only tonight but this year,” Sabalenka said.
“Congrats on the results and hopefully we'll play many more finals.”
