World number one Ashleigh Barty spectacularly ended her jinx against defending champion Elina Svitolina to win the WTA Finals on Sunday and scoop the richest prize in tennis history. Barty, who had never beaten Svitolina in five previous attempts, won 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre. The Australian claimed a record-setting US$4.42 million paycheque – the largest sum ever awarded in men’s and women’s tennis.
Barty’s only loss was to late replacement Kiki Bertens and she became the fifth debutant to win the lucrative round-robin tourney.
This post was published on November 4, 2019 4:02 pm