The WTA Finals are about to start, and there is an extremely strong line-up this year. Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, Ashleigh Barty, and Karolina Pliskova seem to be the hot favorite to win the title. However, the WTA Finals have always been a hunting ground with many surprises as it’s the last effort of the season, and fatigue can play a huge role.
The record-breaking prize money
This will be the first time that the WTA Finals are played in Shenzhen as the event was moved from Singapore after a much higher bid from China. The prize money is also huge, and it’s even higher than the slams. It is structured as follows:
WTA FINALS CHAMPION
$4,725,000 – if undefeated (3 round-robin wins)
$4,420,000 – if 2 round-robin wins
$4,115,000 – if 1 round-robin win
WTA FINALS RUNNER-UP
$2,400,000 – if undefeated (3 round-robin wins)
$2,095,000 – if 2 round-robin wins
$1,790,000 – if 1 round-robin win
WTA FINALS SEMIFINALISTS
$1,300,000 – if undefeated (3 round-robin wins)
$995,000 – if 2 round-robin wins
$690,000 – if 1 round-robin win
Naomi Osaka
The Japanese sensation is back to winning ways in style after she parted ways with her coach Jermaine Jenkins. Naomi is currently coached by her father and that helped her to win 2 titles back to back in Beijing and Osaka playing really great tennis. Naomi also confirmed her fantastic form after she beat Bianca Andreescu in the quarters in Beijing.
Bianca Andreescu
The Canadian is arguably the WTA player of the year. The teenager hit the headlines when she won Indian Wells and the home tournament in Toronto. However, she attracted the attention of the all world after she defeated the great Serena Williams in the US Open with practically all the Arthur Ashe on fire rooting for the American.
Ashleigh Barty
The Australian has finally won her first slam at the French Open on what was her less favorite surface. Later on, Barty conquered the top of the rankings also to win the title in Birmingham. Even if she had many decent runs in the following months, she fell a bit short of the expectations as many thought she would have made a meal of the competition. Still, she reached a prestigious final in Beijing and the semifinals in Cincinnati and Wuhan.
Karolina Pliskova
The Czech had a rather good year after she won 4 titles in Brisbane, Rome, Eastbourne, and Zhengzhou. However, she didn’t look in great shape in the last 2 tournaments after she lost in her 2nd match in Wuhan and the opener in Beijing. Nevertheless, Karolina is well known for being able to beat anyone if she is dialed in.
The groups
Red Group
Barty
Osaka
Kvitova
Bencic
Purple Group
Pliskova
Andreescu
Halep
Svitolina
Naomi Osaka’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 6th of October when she defeated Ashleigh Barty 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing to win her 5th career title.
This year the Japanese has a 39-11 win-loss record. The Japanese has won 3 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Osaka and in Beijing.
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.4 (career-high), Andreescu played her last match on the 4th of October when she lost to Naomi Osaka 5-7 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Beijing.
This year Andreescu has a 46-5 win-loss record. The Canadian conquered 4 titles in 2019 in the Newport Beach, in Indian Wells, in Toronto and at the U.S. Open. Bianca Vanessa was the finalist in Auckland.
Naomi Osaka and Bianca Vanessa Andreescu played each other 1 time. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka.
The last time that they competed against each other, Naomi Osaka won 5-7 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Beijing in 04th October 2019.
Here the highlights.
