Swiss player Belinda Bencic booked her place in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen after reaching the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow with a 6-3, 6-4 win over France's Kristina Mladenovic.
Bencic, 22, earned the eighth and final spot for the season-ending tournament in China, joining Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina.
After a prolonged spell struggling with injuries, 2019 has been a resurgent season for Bencic, who won her first title in nearly four years at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where she defeated four top-10 players en route to the trophy.
Bencic also produced her best ever Grand Slam result this season by reaching the semi-finals of the US Open, resulting in a return to the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time since 2015.
Other notable tournaments for Bencic include reaching the Mallorca Open final, and three semi-finals, at the Hobart International, Indian Wells, and Madrid Open.
“It’s a dream to be competing at the WTA Finals and to be one of the top eight," Bencic said. "It makes it even more special that I booked my ticket at the last possible minute. This match had so much pressure and I was so nervous. Now I’m over the moon to win today and achieve this dream.
👏👏 A win in straight set! @BelindaBencic defeats Mladenovic, 6-3, 6-4, and advances to the finals of the #KremlinCup pic.twitter.com/RPjGV7WSkj
— wta (@WTA) October 19, 2019
“All the eight players deserve to be there because it shows we had the most consistent seasons. This was also a big goal after all my injuries to have a really consistent goal and to reach Shenzhen is a huge bonus and a reward for an amazing season.”
The WTA Finals will take place October 27 to November 3, with the eight players competing for a record prize fund of $14 million (Dh51.4m).