Zheng Qinwen continued her breakthrough season with victory over Barbora Krejcikova to reach the final of the season-ending WTA Finals.
China’s Zheng reached the final of the Australian Open in January before winning Olympic gold in the summer.
She now has a chance to secure another prestigious title after beating Wimbledon champion Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5 in the semi-finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zheng let a double lead slip away in the second set before rediscovering her form to wrap up the victory.
“It feels so special. It feels incredible to be in the final,” said the 22-year-old.
“It was a tough match for me, but it shows that I am mentally strong at that moment.”
She will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka – who defeated her in the round-robin stages earlier this week – or Coco Gauff on Saturday.
Zheng is only the second Asian player to reach the final, after her idol Li Na in 2013.
The crowd was mixed at the tournament, but Zheng was a consistent draw in Saudi Arabia, with a large number of Chinese fans cheering her on against Krejcikova.
Her game is simple: a big serve, followed by an equally booming groundstroke, which initially worked with great success against Krejcikova.
She moved well around the court and bullied Krejcikova out of rallies before the Czech took advantage of a dip in her form to force the second set back to 3-3.
Zheng grew increasingly frustrated – not helped by her service game being held up twice by a crying baby – and her shots became wilder, but she remained within feet of Krejcikova.
A thunderous backhand return of serve gave Zheng a break point at 5-5, and she rightly took it on a long Krejcikova forehand to serve for the match.
Although Krejcikova pushed her again, with Zheng having to fend off another break point, she eventually claimed a straight-set victory when the Czech forehand went wide.
