The 2019 women’s French Open concludes with Ashleigh Barty and Marketa Vondrousova battling for a record prize fund in a match between two surprise finalists.
Tournament organisers have increased the total prize fund by eight percent from last year while closing the gap between the amount the winner receives and the consolations for players knocked out in earlier rounds.
As well as lifting the trophy, the winner and runner-up will see their earnings jump by almost five percent from the amount they would have earned in 2018.
FRENCH OPEN RESULTS – WOMEN’S SINGLES
Australian Barty and Czech Vondrousova are guaranteed to enjoy their greatest ever payday at the tournament.
Although Barty reached the doubles final in 2017, the number eight seed has never been beyond the second round of the singles competition.
Vondrousova, 19, is even less experienced at Roland-Garros, losing in the first round on both of her previous appearances.
How much does the French Open women’s winner earn?
Barty and Vondrousova would have won more than £520,000 even if they had suffered the fate of their semi-final victims, Britain’s Johanna Konta and American Amanda Anisimova.
The champion will pocket more than £2m, up from the figure of around £1.92m Simona Halep received for beating Sloane Stephens to win her first Grand Slam 12 months ago.
World number 38 Vondrousova came from 5-3 down in both sets to see off Konta via two tie-break wins.
The left-hander took 105 minutes to close out a gutsy win in blustery conditions, and will now look to stop Barty from rising to as high as number two in the world.
She has not dropped a set on the way to becoming the first teenage finalist at Roland-Garros since Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic in 2007, but has lost both of her previous matches against Barty.
Barty will be wary of spurning as many match points as she did in her semi-final win over Anisimova, passing up the chance to confirm victory five times before she sealed the match.
Vondrousova played an exquisite drop shot to win the match, then said: “It was a very tough match today.
“I’m just happy that I kept my nerve at the end. I’m so happy.”
Discussing her semi-final, Barty said: “That was one of the toughest things I have been through.
“Mentally, physically, the occasion, the conditions – it was pretty brutal out there. I played some really good tennis and some pretty awful tennis.
“I’m proud of myself for fighting, scrapping, hanging in there to find a way when I threw away that first set.
“It’s been an incredible journey over the last two weeks, and I think maybe a blessing in disguise that we’re playing day after day, just to keep the momentum going.
“I’ve worked so hard. Now the only way to approach it is to enjoy it, embrace it, have fun and try to play with freedom. That’s when I play my best tennis.”