Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty capped her sensational 2019 season with the biggest ever payout in tennis history by dethroning defending champion Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 in the final of the $14m Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen.
The first set got tighter in the penultimate game, as Barty fended off Svitolina’s first opportunity to break and in the following game converted her third break point to win the opener. The second set featured five breaks of serve, but the crucial one was Barty’s in the eighth game, as the Australian confidently consolidated it with a love hold when Svitolina netted a forehand on match point.