Venus Williams [Images] defeated Russia's [Images] Vera Zvonareva [Images] 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 on Sunday to win the season-ending WTA Championships.
It was the first time the American had won the event after she reached the semi-finals in her previous two appearances. She retired injured on the second occasion, in 2002, and she qualified but failed to play because of injury on five other occasions.
Venus, Vera in final
Williams, who went undefeated in her five matches this time, earned $1.34 million dollars, allowing her to overtake Martina Navratilova for fourth place on the list of top prize money earners in women's tennis. Zvonareva received $715,000.
It was the American's third title of the year, following victories at Wimbledon [Images] and Zurich.
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