Simona Halep withdraws from Cincinnati Masters with leg injury
Halep was set to face Veronika Kudermetova in the second round. Kudermetova received a walkover into the Round of 16 and will face either Paula Badosa or Ajla Tomljanovic.
Halep was set to face Veronika Kudermetova in the second round. Kudermetova received a walkover into the Round of 16 and will face either Paula Badosa or Ajla Tomljanovic.
Halep, who has won two Grand Slam titles -- French Open 2018 and Wimbledon 2019, was placed No.27 till the week of February 28.
Winner in the 2016 and 2018 editions of the tournament, Halep ended the run of Haddad Maia with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win achieved in 2 hours and 16 minutes.
With her impressive run in the WTA 1000 tournament, the 30-year-old Halep, who will face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final here, will return to the world's Top-10 when the latest rankings are released on Monday.
The 23-year-old Rybakina's power game has pulled her through the 2022 Wimbledon Championships final. She blasted her way to victory in just 1 hour and 15 minutes, handing Halep her first loss at Wimbledon since 2018.
Their head-to-head coming into the match was equally split, with four wins each in eight meetings, and the Romanian having won their two most recent clashes at Wimbledon and in Doha.
Elina Svitolina dominated the second set from the word go and broke Karolina Pliskova in the very first game to eventually win first match of WTA Finals.
According to tournament organisers, the Australian wildcard entry Kokkinakis pulled out of the Thursday evening tie with a right shoulder problem.
The top three of Barty, Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova remains unchanged although none of them reached the quarter-finals.
Williams may have kept Halep waiting to go on court but if she hoped that would upset her opponent it did quite the opposite.
