Reigning WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek was eliminated from the season-ending tournament on Thursday when Barbora Krejcikova defeated Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4.

Gauff had already secured her place in the semi-finals, but Swiatek needed the American to win to keep her own hopes alive. Swiatek hoped to reach the final of the tournament after recently losing her fight for the No. 1 spot to Aryna Sabalenka.. Meanwhile, the eighth-placed Czech needed victory to advance. In the competitive first set, which lasted 54 minutes, Krejcikova saved four break points and clinched the score with a powerful backhand shot.

Former US Open champion Gauff went into the match without losing a set in the tournament, but struggled with 23 unforced errors in the first set alone. The second set was tight, but Wimbledon champion Krejcikova maintained her courage and won in 1 hour and 42 minutes. By placing 13th, she became the lowest-ranked player to reach the WTA Finals semi-finals since Sandrine Testud in 2001.

With the win, Gauff will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the high-profile semi-final, while Krejcikova will face China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

Earlier in the day, Swiatek had defeated Daria Kasatkina with a clinical performance of 6-1, 6-0. Swiatek took a 5-0 lead in the opening set, closed the set with an ace, and continued her momentum in the second set. Kasatkina, who was ranked ninth and replaced Jessica Pegula, who suffered a knee injury at the last minute, could not keep up with Swiatek’s speed because Pole completed the match in only 51 minutes, achieving the fastest victory in the WTA Finals. eight years.

Swiatek won an impressive 72% of her points on serve and reached 15 winners, extending her head-to-head lead over Kasatkina to 6-1. Known for her dominant “bagel” sets, Swiatek took her fifth 6-0 set at the WTA Finals to equal Serena Williams and fall behind Martina Navratilova (12), Chris Evert and Steffi Graf (with seven sets each).