Tennis champion Ash Barty has just taken home the biggest pay cheque any player – female or male – has ever won for a single tournament. Her incredible victory in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen yesterday saw the Australian tennis star earn $6.4m in prize money.
It’s been a monumental year for the Queensland player who won the French Open, became the world number one female tennis player and first Australian women to do so in 43 years and has amassed more than $US10 million in prize money.
“It’s just been a crazy year, it really has,” Barty said at the trophy presentation in Shenzhen, China.
“I’m not living an extravagant life,” she told AAP.
“I’m pretty happy in my little house at home. I’ve got everything that I need. I’m pretty boring. I don’t really spend a lot on myself.”
The powerhouse tennis player from Ipswich is ranked No. 1 in the world in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and is the second Australian WTA singles No. 1 after her hero Evonne Goolagong Cawley. She is also a top 20 player in doubles, having achieved a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world. Barty has won seven singles titles and ten doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including a Grand Slam singles title at the 2019 French Open, a Grand Slam doubles title at the 2018 US Open with CoCo Vandeweghe and the 2019 WTA Finals singles title.