Defending champion Elina Svitolina became the first player to secure a semi-final spot at the WTA Finals in Chinaon Wednesday with a straight sets win over Simona Halep while Bianca Andreescu retired injured in her meeting with Karolina Pliskova.
The 19-year-old U.S. Open champion pulled out after the end of the first set having lost 6-3 after suffering an injury to her left knee midway through the third game.
Pliskova will now face Halep in the pair’s final game in the Purple Group knowing a win will take her into the semi-finals alongside Svitolina, who took advantage of an error-strewn display by the Romanian to pick up her second win of the week.
Svitolina sealed a 7-5 6-3 victory over the Wimbledon champion as she notched up her second win a row two days after defeating Pliskova to guarantee a top two finish in the round-robin phase of the competition.
