As 2019 winds down, Australia's Ash Barty has added another accolade to cap off a stunning season, being named the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) player of the year.
Barty picked up 82 per cent of the media vote to win the award, which has of course been won by some of the biggest names in tennis, like Serena Williams (five times), Steffi Graf (eight times) and Martina Navratilova (seven times)
The world number one started the year by reaching the final in Sydney, when she was ranked a then-career-high 15th in the world, and it only got better from there.
She captured her first grand slam title at the French Open, which was one of six tournament finals she reached this year.
On top of the Roland Garros crown, she scooped the biggest pay packet in tennis history by winning the WTA Finals last month, ending a year that also included titles at Birmingham and Miami.
All told, the 23-year-old won 57 matches on tour in 2019, which was the most by any women's player.
It all conspired to help her become Australia's first women's world number one since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.
Earlier in the week, Barty picked up three Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards (ASPAs) — female athlete of the year, ABC sport personality of the year and the sporting moment of the year.
"We are a sporting nation, we love it and it is in our blood, so to receive the votes and the support from the public is amazing," she said after receiving the ASPAs.
A little over two weeks ago she also won the Newcombe Medal as Australia's best tennis player for the third straight year.
