BELINDA BENCIC SECURES FINAL QUALIFICATION SPOT AT SHISEIDO WTA FINALS SHENZHEN

(October 19, 2019) WTA – ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) announced on Saturday that Belinda Bencic has qualified for the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, set to take place from October 27 – November 3 for a record-breaking $14 million in prize money.

By advancing to the championship match at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the Swiss earns the final qualifying spot, joining Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina in Shenzhen.

Bencic has earned her career first qualification at the year-end finale following a resurgent season, highlighted by capturing the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where she ousted four Top 10 players to claim her first Premier-level title since 2015. She also recorded her career-best Grand Slam run this year by reaching the semifinals at the US Open, allowing her to soar back into the Top 10 for the first time since May of 2015.

She also contested the final at the Mallorca Open and made three additional semifinal appearances at the Hobart International, BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) and the Mutua Madrid Open.

Bencic has posted a Tour-leading six wins over Top 5 players this season in addition to her leading nine victories over Top 10 players.

“It’s a dream to be competing at the WTA Finals and to be one of the top eight,” Bencic said after winning her semifinal match in Moscow. “It makes it even more special that I booked my ticket at the last possible minute. This match had so much pressure and I was so nervous. Now I’m over the moon to win today and achieve this dream.

“All the eight players deserve to be there because it shows we had the most consistent seasons. This was also a big goal after all my injuries to have a really consistent goal and to reach Shenzhen is a huge bonus and a reward for an amazing season.”