Kiki Bertens makes most of late chance by beating world No 1 Ashleigh Barty theguardian.com

Ashleigh Barty secured the No 1 ranking but lost to late replacement Kiki Bertens 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at WTA Finals in China.
Ashleigh Barty experienced mixed emotions as she became the first Australian to secure the year-end No 1 ranking by the simple act of stepping on to Centre Court at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. She left wondering what on earth had gone wrong after squandering a set-and-break lead to lose 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the late replacement Kiki Bertens in a scrappy encounter.

“When you give a player of Kiki’s caliber a chance to get back into the match not once but twice, she’s going to make you pay,” Barty said. “That’s probably the most disappointing thing. Twice in the second set, I was up a break and wasn’t able to consolidate.”