Halep sent packing

Elina Svitolina beat world number one Simona Halep in straight sets to send her crashing out of the WTA Finals and hand breakout French star Caroline Garcia a place in the semis on Friday.

Svitolina, the world number four, was already eliminated after losing her first two matches but she took Halep down with her as she won 6-3, 6-4 in 71 minutes.

Halep needed victory to keep her campaign alive but struggled to click into gear against a relaxed Svitolina.

It means Garcia, the lowest-ranked player in the draw, tops Red Group and will play Venus Williams on Saturday, while Caroline Wozniacki will face Karolina Pliskova in the other semifinal.

Svitolina went for her shots and dictated from the back of the court, rattling a shaky Halep, who had suffered a big loss to Wozniacki in her previous match.

"I played free it was a good match for me and I am very happy to finish in Singapore with the win," the Ukrainian said.

Earlier Garcia, the world number eight, admitted it felt surreal even to be in the tournament after her thrilling 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Denmark's Wozniacki.