Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has been eliminated from the tournament champions after being defeated on Thursday by Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 6-3, 7-6 (5) in their last match of the Red Group tournament in Singapore.
Halep, the third favourite of the competition and 4th WTA, is leaving the tournament after the group stage for the second consecutive year, but in 2014 she played the final against Serena Williams.
Halep performed with a bandage on her left knee and showed low mobility in moving to the sidelines.
Cibulkova leads Halep 4-2 in direct matches, winning three times on hard and once on grass. Halep won both meetings played on clay, the last time in the Madrid final 6-2, 6-4.
Following her participation in the tournament, Halep will cash in USD 153,000 and receive 500 WTA points. In the first matches, Simona Halep defeated Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 and was defeated by Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2.
Simona Halep ends the season with three titles won at Madrid, Bucharest and Montreal.