Elena Rybakina completed a clean sweep of her group at the WTA Finals with a straightforward victory over late call-up Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The sixth seed, who sealed her progression to the semi-finals on Monday, continued her momentum with a 6-4 6-4 win in Riyadh.
The Kazakh had been due to play Madison Keys, but the American – who could not advance – withdrew just hours before the start of the match because of illness.
Alexandrova was the second alternate, but received the nod after fellow Russian and first option Mirra Andreeva, who is also competing in the doubles in Riyadh, declared she was not fit to play.
“Ekaterina was a tough opponent, especially in the beginning it was difficult to return,” said Rybakina, who beat Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek earlier in the week.
“Every match I play I want to win of course, each win gives you confidence. Hopefully I can continue.”
Anisimova and Swiatek face off for the second qualification spot from the Serena Williams Group later on Wednesday.
The leading eight women’s players in singles and doubles are competing in Saudi Arabia, where £12m ($15.5m) in prize money will be won.
In the Stefanie Graf Group, world number one Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula all remain in semi-final contention.
Sabalenka plays defending champion Gauff while Pegula faces the already eliminated Jasmine Paolini in Thursday’s final round-robin matches.
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.