The most consistent player: Karolina Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova enjoyed a consistent season, in which she lifted four titles in Brisbane, Rome, Eastbourne and Zhengzhou (holding the record for most tournament titles together with Ashleigh Barty). She also reached a WTA Premier Mandatory final in Miami and the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
The Comeback of the year: Belinda Bencic
Belinda Bencic started the year outside the top 50 and produced a remarkable 2019 season in which she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open and won two titles in Dubai and Moscow. The 22-year-old Swiss star beat top ten players Aryna Sabalenka, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova in three sets to win her third WTA singles title and second trophy at Premier 5 level. Thanks to her Dubai title Bencic improved her ranking from world number 45 to number 23.
She continued her great season with a run to the semifinals at Indian Wells, where she beat two top ten players (Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova) before losing to Angelique Kerber. Bencic reached the second final of the year at the Mallorca Open, where she beat top seed Angelique Kerber before losing to Sofia Kenin in the final. At the US Open she stunned defending champion Osaka for the third time this season in the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Bianca Andreescu. Thanks to her semifinal at the US Open Bencic returned to the top 10 for the first time since June 2016.
Bencic lifted her second title of the year at the Kremlin Cup by beating Anastasya Pavlychenkova in the final and qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. In Shenzhen Bencic beat Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens to reach the semifinals before losing to Elina Svitolina.
The Rising star of the year: Cori Gauff
Cori Gauff became the youngest player to reach the main draw at Wimbledon at the age of 15. In her debut of the famous British tournament Gauff upset Venus Williams in straight sets and reached the fourth round with wins over Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog, before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep. In her second Grand Slam tournament Gauff lost to Naomi Osaka in the third round at the US Open. Gauff lost in the qualifying round of the Linz Open, but she entered the main draw as a lucky loser. She went on to beat top seed Kiki Bertens in the quarter finals, scoring her first top ten win. The American beat Jelena Ostapenko in the Linz final to become the youngest player to win a singles title since 2004.
