Aussie tennis superstar Ash Barty made history on Sunday night when she defeated Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen and took home a whopping $6.4 MILLION in prize money.
It’s a huge win for Barty, and it’s more than any player – including greats like Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal – has ever received from a single tournament.
Might I remind you that Barty is 23 years old. And I thought sitting my Learner’s Driving test for the second time was an accomplishment at that age…
You’d think all that prize money and success would go to someone’s head at 23, but not for Ash Barty. Speaking to AAP in Shenzhen about how she plans to spend her hard-earned cash, Barty said “I’ve got everything I need,” but that she’d like to spoil her young niece and nephew, Lucy and Oscar.
“Thankfully they can’t read but for Christmas they’re getting a new swing set, which they’re pretty excited about now that they’ve got the trampoline and swing set out the back,” she said.
“And I know Luce and Oscar are very keen to learn how to play tennis so I think that’s going to be pretty special to try and get a racquet in their hand. They already run around with a racquet, it’s amazing.”
Later, she said, “I mean the amount of zeros you have in the bank account doesn’t change how I’m going to spend my off-season and spend time with my family.”
“That’s one of the biggest times that I miss throughout the year, is spending genuine time with them,” she said. “It’s great that I can buy them things that they love but I live a pretty simple life. I’m not living an extravagant life.”
“I’m pretty happy in my little house at home. I’ve got everything that I need…I don’t really spend a lot on myself.”
Barty’s 2019 prize money is now sitting pretty at $16.37 million. That’s more than men’s world number one Novak Djokovic, who has racked up an equally-as-impressive yet slightly less $16.06M this year.
Despite the accolades (and money in the bank) it sounds like Ash Barty is as humble as ever, giving us all the more reason to support her speedy ascent to the top. Go Ash!