Eight women had put together eight unique journeys to earn a berth in the WTA Finals.  There was no surprise that Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, who each arrived in Singapore with a chance to finish the year at No. 1, garnered the majority of the headlines.  The resurgence of Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki has also made for good stories, and to a lesser extent, so has new “It” girl Eugenie Bouchard.  Few were looking for something spectacular from Simona Halep.  Maybe they should have been.

Halep popped up on the radar last season when she won the first six titles of her career.  She has more than backed that up in 2014 with her victory in Doha and finalist appearances in Madrid and Roland Garros, as well as other numerous deep runs, such as her semifinal showing at Wimbledon.  Those kinds of results are what aided her in securing a spot in Singapore, but her play coming into this last event of the season had been less than stellar.  Apart from winning a small title in her native Romania, Halep missed Montréal, squandered chances against Sharapova in Cincinnati, and suffered early exits in both New Haven and the US Open.  She did not fare much better in the autumn either.  Her last two events heading into the WTA Finals included a defeat in the opening round of Wuhan and being forced to withdraw prior to her quarterfinal clash with Ivanovic in Beijing.  It was a stretch of results that left many wondering not only if Halep could physically find a way to finish the year on a high, but mentally manage the new weight of expectations on her shoulders.

Halep has silenced her critics and squelched any personal doubts she may have felt with her performances this week, however.  In her opening match, she faced Bouchard, and like the Canadian, Halep was making her debut performance in the WTA Finals.  She handled her nerves beautifully to routinely earn the victory over Bouchard.  It was in her second match against Williams, though, where Halep really shined.

Coming into the match with Williams, there was little to suggest that the Romanian would emerge the victor.  She had lost all three of her previous encounters with the American.  Furthermore, she had lost the last six sets, and in two of them, she had failed to even win a game.  But on Wednesday, Halep got her revenge.  She gave up only two games to hand Williams her worst defeat since 1998.

Most, including Halep and Williams, acknowledged that Williams did not play her best in that loss.  That said, the Romanian deserves a large amount of the credit for the victory.  She confidently went toe-to-toe with Williams from the baseline.  She also changed the direction of the ball beautifully to keep Williams off balance, and it was Halep who was the steadier of the two in the long rallies.  Most impressive, however, was the way she held it together in the second set.  Williams started to show signs of finding her game, and even threw a few fist-pumps and a stare Halep’s way.  But the former No. 2 refused to be rattled.  Additionally, she faced six break points and saved every last one of them.  Given the way she folded against some of the big hitters earlier in the season, Halep’s ability to maintain her composure through to the finish line was a huge psychological victory.

Suffice it to say, even with tennis still to be played before 2014 officially wraps, this week has already been a success for Halep.  She has once again proven why she deserves to be in Singapore.  More importantly, however, this week has sent a warning shot to the rest of the field.  Halep is happy to take her place in the upper echelons of the sport, and she is going to be a force to be reckoned with come 2015.