Bencic reaches Moscow final to secure WTA Finals spot

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 6, 2019 Switzerland's Belinda Bencic during her third round match against Alison Riske of the U.S. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

(Reuters) - Switzerland's Belinda Bencic powered past Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-4 on Saturday to reach the Kremlin Cup final in Moscow and secure the eighth and final spot in the season-ending WTA Finals starting later this month.

The 22-year-old will make her debut in the Oct. 27-Nov. 3 tournament in Shenzhen and joins Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and defending champion Elina Svitolina.