WORLD No 1 Simona Halep is out of the WTA Finals in Singapore after losing to Elina Svitolina in the last round-robin match.
Halep needed to beat the Ukrainian to advance out of her group with Caroline Wozniacki, but went down 6-3, 6-4.
Furthermore, she will lose her crown as the world’s best if Karolina Pliskova wins the title on Sunday.
Halep’s defeat means that in-form Caroline Garcia joins Wozniacki in the final four to carry on her amazing end-of-season run.
Garcia, who won back-to-back titles in China to seal a spot at the tournament, was looking dead and buried after losing her first round-robin game against Halep but beat Svitolina on Wednesday and came into Friday’s clash with Wozniacki knowing she had to win.
She might have been preparing herself for a flight home after losing the first set to love, but steeled herself against a player who had only dropped four games in her previous two matches and came through 0-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The Frenchwoman still had a nervous wait to see if she progressed, but after Svitolina, playing with the freedom of a player who was already out, was too good for Halep, it meant that Garcia ended up topping the group.
That set up a semi-final against Venus Williams while Pliskova lies in wait for Wozniacki.
Meanwhile, British No 2 Kyle Edmund is into his third semi-final of the year after breezing past Jan-Lennard Struff at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
Edmund saw off the German 6-2, 7-5 to secure his place in the last four.
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