Ashleigh Barty secures Porsche Cayenne Coupe
Australian Ashleigh Barty has won the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen", the official qualifier for the Shiseido WTA Finals, which starts on Sunday. As winner, she received a Porsche Cayenne Coupé on Friday.
by press release
last edit: Oct 25, 2019, 07:14 pm
The 23-year-old number 1 in the world rankings also starts as the favorite in the prestigious final tournament of the eight most successful players of the season, which is held after five years in Singapore for the first time in the Chinese high-tech capital of Shenzhen.
"Having won the 'Porsche Race to Shenzhen' after such an exciting year makes me very proud," said Ashleigh Barty. For the Australian, 2019 is the most successful year of her career, even before the first serve at the Shiseido WTA Finals. In addition to her first Grand Slam victory at the French Open in Paris, she also won the WTA tournaments in Miami and Birmingham. In Sydney and early October in Beijing, she was in the final. She wants to build on that in the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center: "I really hope that I can take my good form into the WTA Finals and play my best tennis to complete this very special season."
"We warmly congratulate Ashleigh Barty on winning the 'Porsche Race to Shenzhen' and awarding her the athletic Cayenne Coupe with the appropriate award for her great sporting achievements this season," said Detlev von Platen, Porsche AG's Sales and Marketing Director. "The WTA Finals in China are another highlight of our successful partnership with the WTA and the perfect end to a fantastic tennis year."
Barty as top favorite in the WTA final
Besides Ashleigh Barty as winner of the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen", Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic), Naomi Osaka (Japan), Simona Halep (Romania), Bianca Andreescu (Canada), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) and Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) qualified for the final tournament. With Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova the winners of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2018 and 2019 are at the start. At the season highlight of the eight best singles and doubles pairings, a player from Porsche Team Germany made it into the twelve-million city: Anna-Lena Grönefeld secured a place in the field of the best eight double teams with Dutchwoman Demi Schuurs.
As a partner of the Shiseido WTA Finals, Porsche is providing 40 vehicles for the event. In addition, there will be a Porsche Cayenne Coupé at the Center Court at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, and there will be a variety of Porsche visitor activities in the Fan Village. China is one of the core markets for the sports car manufacturer. Jens Puttfarcken, Managing Director of Porsche China, is therefore looking forward to the premiere of this prestigious event in Shenzhen. "The WTA Finals have evolved into a world-class event and are also one of the sports highlights of the year in China," he says. "We are proud to be part of this success story with Porsche China this year."
Porsche global partner of the WTA
As part of its global partnership with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Porsche is the title partner of the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen" and as such is visible in all WTA tournaments worldwide. The Stuttgart sports car manufacturer is also the exclusive automotive partner of the WTA and the Shiseido WTA Finals and sponsor of the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen Challenge", the annual online fantasy game of the WTA. In addition, Porsche has its presence through partnerships in the WTA events in St. Petersburg (Russia), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Monterrey (Mexico), Birmingham (United Kingdom), San José (USA), Cincinnati (USA) and Linz (Austria) expanded. The company has been sponsoring the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix since 1978, and has also been the organizer since 2002. The tournament in the Stuttgart Porsche Arena is regularly voted by the players to the world's most popular in its category.
This is the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen"
The "Porsche Race to Shenzhen" is the official qualification ranking for the Shiseido WTA Finals. The eight most successful single and double teams of the season are eligible to start. For the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen" the best results of each player are scored in the course of a year. In 2019 they scored in a total of 56 tournaments (52 WTA events and four Grand Slams). Each tournament is symbolized - in line with Porsche in motorsport - with its own boxing board. The player with the most points in the individual classification receives a Porsche as the winner.