Ashleigh Barty and Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic Win First Edition of Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen

Ashleigh Barty
Photo by Getty Images courtesy of the WTA

Women’s Tennis Association (November 3, 2019) WTA World No.1 Ashleigh Barty claimed her fourth singles title of the season today at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, prevailing over the defending champion Elina Svitolina in the final. She becomes the first Australian woman to lift the Billie Jean King Trophy in 43 years, after Evonne Goolagong Cawley did so in 1976.

Barty’s win also signifies another historic milestone, as the Australian has won the largest prize money check in professional tennis by earning $4.42 million.

Barty becomes the first reigning World No.1 to lift the Billie Jean King Trophy since Serena Williams in 2013 and is now the fifth player to clinch the title on her debut appearance, following Serena Williams (2001), Maria Sharapova (2004), Petra Kvitova (2011) and Dominika Cibulkova (2016). Including the victory over Svitolina, Barty has won a Tour-leading 56 match wins this season.

Click here to read more on Barty’s historic achievement.

Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic
Photos provided by Getty Images

Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic successfully defended their WTA Finals crown, defeating No.2 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova to lift the Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy once again. They become the first team to clinch back-to-back WTA Finals doubles titles in 11 years, after Cara Black and Liezel Huber from 2007-08.

Babos has now won her third WTA Finals doubles title, having also triumphed in 2017 with Andrea Sestini Hlavackova. The last player to capture three consecutive WTA Finals doubles titles was Lindsay Davenport from 1996-98.

Click here to read more on Babos and Mladenovic’s title defense in Shenzhen.

Final Wrap – Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen

RESULTS – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2019

Singles Final

[1] A. Barty (AUS) d [8] E. Svitolina (UKR) 64 63

Click here to watch Barty assess her performance.

Doubles Final

[3] T. Babos (HUN) / K. Mladenovic (FRA) d [2] S. Hsieh (TPE) / B. Strycova (CZE) 61 63

Click here to watch Babos/Mladenovic assess their performance.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

· Barty Dethrones Svitolina to Capture WTA Finals Crown

· As It Happened: How Barty Kept Her Cool to Win the WTA Finals

· Babos, Mladenovic Defend WTA Finals Title With Defeat of Hsieh, Strycova

· 2019 WTA Finals Doubles Highlights: Babos, Mladenovic Defend Title

· Barty, Strycova Secure WTA Year-End World No.1 Rankings presented by Dubai Duty Free

QUOTES OF THE DAY:

Barty: “It feels like it’s been a year that just hasn’t stopped. It’s been a year of incredible ups and downs, I think more ups than downs. To cap it off with a very, very special night tonight in Shenzhen is really cool.”

Babos: “We can all just be very, very happy and pleased. Just amazed about this week. We played some great tennis. There was no one out there on this tournament who could beat us. That’s really amazing. To share it with Kiki, to play on the biggest stage with her, to get the title together, it’s an incredible story. I’m just really happy to lift that trophy again.”

Mladenovic: “I think the game plan the whole week was to bring our big game, use our big strengths that we each have in our singles game, which would be big serve, great returns. I wouldn’t change anything because with our full commitment, we achieved what we wanted. It’s the best feeling.”