Halep loses WTA Finals to S. Williams

American Serena Williams (WTA No. 1) defeated Romanian Simona Halep (WTA No. 4) 6-3, 6-0 to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals championship in Singapore on Sunday.

Williams thus avenged the 6-0, 6-2 loss to Halep in the round robin stage. She would not have made it out of the group and into the semifinal if already qualified Halep wouldn't have won one set against Serbian Ana Ivanovici.

Halep's performance was nevertheless the best in her career so far. She was the first Romanian to play the final of the season-ending champions tournament, and only the third ever to get into this competition, after Virginia Ruzici and Irina Sparlea. Her reward is a 971,000 dollars cheque and 890 WTA points.

As a result, she will advance from current No. 3 to No. 4 in the WTA ranking.

"It was an amazing week so I can't be too sad that I lost," Halep declared after the match. She congratulated Williams, acknowledging her as the best, and thanked her family and fans. AGERPRES