Rising star Barty set for first WTA Finals appearance in China

SHENZHEN, China — Ashleigh Barty of Australia is ready to cap off the most successful season of her career with a first appearance in the year-end WTA Finals.

Barty achieved a number of career firsts this season, winning a Grand Slam title at the French Open, earning the No. 1 ranking and leading Australia to the upcoming Fed Cup final.

“It’s been an incredibly consistent year across all surfaces, across all continents in the world,” Barty said. “I feel like [I’ve] played an exceptional level of tennis.”

The WTA Finals, which debuts its scheduled 10-year run in Shenzhen on Sunday, is welcoming more members of the younger generation to the $14 million event that features the top eight players in the world and the richest payday.

The singles winner is guaranteed at least $4.1 million, which makes it the biggest tournament paycheck for men or women in the sport. If the WTA Finals champion goes undefeated in round-robin matches, she’ll earn $4.725 million in prize money.

The 23-year-old Barty is joined in Shenzhen by 19-yearold Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who won her first Grand Slam trophy at the U.S. Open last month; 22-year-old Naomi Osaka of Japan, the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open champion; and 22-year-old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, the last player to qualify for the field.

Only Osaka of the four has played in the WTA Finals, losing all three of her round-robin matches in her debut last year. Although she’s arrived tired from winning titles in Osaka, Japan, and Beijing, she’s hoping to have a better showing than in 2018.