Halep out of WTA Finals

SINGAPORE: World number one Simona Halep withdrew from the WTA Finals in Singapore with a back injury on Thursday, bringing her season to a premature end.

The French Open tennis champion pulled out of last month’s China Open after just 31 minutes, and withdrew from this week’s Kremlin Cup because of the persistent problem.Halep, 27, said she had hoped to compete at the season finale in Singapore, which starts on Sunday, but that she had taken the “tough” decision to put her health first.

“It’s always difficult to withdraw from a big tournament,” said the Romanian, who

sustained the injury in Wuhan last month.“My back is not okay. I didn’t practise for the last four weeks. I’m not ready to compete at this level and I’m still sore.”

Her withdrawal means that Kiki Bertens from the Netherlands moves into the eighth and final qualifying spot in the WTA Finals. It has been a disappointing end to a spectacular season for Halep, which saw her secure the year-end number one ranking in the WTA standings for the second year running.

She spent 40 weeks at number one in 2018, and won three titles from a tour-leading six final appearances, amassing a 46-11 win-loss record.This year Halep has won the Shenzhen Open, the Rogers Cup and her debut Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros.

In addition, she reached the title match at the Australian Open, in Rome and Cincinnati. Meanwhile, former world number one Karolina Pliskova earned a place in the WTA Finals despite a second-round defeat by Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva at Moscow’s Kremlin Cup on Wednesday.

Pliskova’s 6-1, 6-2 loss to Zvonareva, the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open runner-up, also secured Elina Svitolina’s spot in the eight-woman field in Singapore next week.Czech star Pliskova’s participation was confirmed after fourth seed Kiki Bertens lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.

“I’m delighted to be appearing at the WTA Finals for the third time,” Pliskova said. “I have such great memories from playing in Singapore in 2016 and 2017, and I can’t wait to close out the year competing against the other elite players of 2018.”

Pliskova and Svitolina joined Germany’s Angelique Kerber, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, Czech Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Sloane Stephens of the USA.

They will battle for a $7 million (6.1 million euros) prize purse in Singapore.The 34-year-old Zvonareva, who was unranked last year after taking a two-year hiatus to have her first child, claimed her first victory over a top-10 player since beating Caroline Wozniacki at the WTA Tour Finals in 2011.