Halep is ranked number one?

Since the U.S. Open (tennis), I haven't been paying much attention to tennis.  But the sport continues, and it appears that Simona Halep passed Karolina Pliskova in the points race to be currently ranked as the No. 1 woman tennis player in the world.

Well, very good for her.  Now, about those Grand Slam matches...

I learned this because I saw an article about the beginning of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) finals, which is played in a round-robin format rather than a match elimination format, like most tournaments.   Remember back a couple of years ago when a plucky Halep dismantled Serena Williams in the prelims (I think it was 6-0, 6-1), only for Serena to extract a large measure of revenge by winning the final.

In this case, Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, who is another of my favorite disappointments, both won on day two of the preliminary round-robin matches.  Note that in this round robin format, it's possible to game the system a bit and lose so that a player gets a lower seed for the final, and maybe gets to play a more suitable opponent.

WTA Finals: Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki win on day two

Interesting tidbit in the article:  "...seven of the eight finalists are able to finish the year as world number one."

Halep better play well if she wants to stay on top.  Showing how close it is, Halep did pass Pliskova, but the second-ranked player in the world right now is Garbine Muguruza.  And as of today, former number one Pliskova defeated Muguruza 6-2, 6-2. 

Here are the rankings, if you're interested.