Romanian tennis star Simona Halep was named WTA player of the year, Wtatennis.com announced.

Halep, who ends the second consecutive year as leader of the WTA ranking of the best women’s tennis players in the world, also won the Porsche Race to Singapore, a ranking based only on the results obtained in 2018.

Throughout the 2018 season, Simona Halep has amassed 6,921 points from 15 tournaments, with her nearest rival, Angelique Kerber, finishing second with 5,375 points. The Romanian won three tournaments after playing six finals. She lifted her first Grand Slam trophy at Roland Garros and lost the final at the Australian Open.

“Winning the Race to Singapore for the second year in a row is a fantastic moment for me, and I hope I can carry this good form over into the new season,” Halep said.

Halep is also the recipient of the Special Achievement award as the only player who has qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore in each of its five editions. Unfortunately, she couldn’t compete at this year’s WTA Finals in Singapore due to a back injury that has kept her off the court at the last tournaments this year. She is currently recovering after being diagnosed with disk hernia.

To celebrate winning the 2018 Porsche Race to Singapore, Halep was presented with a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS.

editor@romania-insider.com