After believing her season was over, Barty won Zhuhai

On Sunday, Ashleigh Barty won the biggest title of her career, defeating Qiang Wang in the final of the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. For the 22-year-old, the victory came as a shock after believing she may not get past the round-robin stage in the first place.

It was already an unusual set of circumstances for Barty who participated in both the WTA Finals in Singapore and the WTA Elite Trophy. Barty qualified in doubles with CoCo Vandeweghe and made it to the semifinals before falling in a deciding third set tiebreaker to eventual champions Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos.

Speaking to the press after her 6-3, 6-4 round-robin win against Caroline Garcia, Barty talked about whether she would qualify for the semifinals in Zhuhai.

"It's out of my hands. I think we've had an amazing season. A really nice end to the season to be able to come away with a win," she said. "I mean, I'll just have to sit back and watch tomorrow and worry about whether we're here for an extra day or not."

Barty had lost 6-4, 6-4 to Aryna Sabalenka in the first round of the three-player Orchid group, putting her place in the semifinals into question. When Garcia beat Sabalenka, 6-4, 6-4, Barty was through because she had lost one less game than both Garcia and Sabalenka.

Not losing that one extra game has ended up being the most critical move in her career. The Australian would take out defending champion Julia Goerges in three sets in the semifinals.

And dismiss local hope Qiang Wang in the final.

Barty ends her excellent season with a career-high singles ranking of No. 15.

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