Garcia covered her face with her hands and fell on her back after a Sabalenka forehand sailed wide on match point to cap a serving masterclass and earn her fourth title of the year.

Both players’ thunderous serves were firing early and neither faced a break point in the first set of the final of the season-ending tournament, which features the WTA Tour’s top eight players.

However, in the tiebreaker the Belarusian’s second serve, which has bedevilled her at times this season, failed her again – first a costly double fault to fall behind 5-2 and then another on set point.

Garcia kept the pressure on from there, breaking to open the second set and coming through a deuce game to seal the win.

The 29-year-old was ranked outside the top 70 in mid-June but has since won four titles, made the semifinals of the US Open, and will now rise to a career-high No 4.