Ashleigh Barty beat Elina Svitolina in a high-quality match to claim the WTA Finals title and pick up the biggest prize money ever offered in tennis.

The Australian world number one won 6-4 6-3 to take the season-ending title in Shenzhen and a record $4.42m (£3.42m).

Barty, 23, had lost all her five of her previous matches against the Ukrainian defending champion.

But she came through a testing second set, featuring five breaks of serve, to take victory when Svitolina netted.

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Barty ends stunning year with another major achievement

Whatever happened in the Shenzhen final, Barty’s lengthy list of achievements in a spectacular season would not have been diminished.

But she made sure she capped an extraordinary year by becoming the first Australian to win the WTA Tour finals since her role model Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.

What makes her success even more remarkable is the fact Barty stepped away from the tour following the 2014 US Open, saying she felt tennis was a “lonely sport”.

The Queenslander switched to cricket and played for the Brisbane Heat in the women’s Big Bash.

After rising to the top 20 last year, Barty’s unique mix of power and variety, intelligence and creativity, has taken her to the top of the women’s game with titles on all surfaces.

Her 2019 achievements include:

• Winning first Premier Mandatory title at the Miami Open
• Claiming her first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open
• Winning the Birmingham title to rise to world number one for the first time
• Finishing the year as the world’s top player
• Becoming the fifth player to win the WTA Finals on her debut

“It has been a remarkable year tonight was about coming out and fighting to the end. I couldn’t be prouder. It has been an incredible year,” Barty said.

“I’m proud of myself and the team, we tried to put ourselves in the biggest situations and occasions and we managed to do that.”