Simona halep is set to become the 25th woman and first Romanian to hold the WTA No 1 ranking

BEIJING, China
Simona Halep is set to become the 25th woman and first Romanian to hold the WTA No.1 ranking. After falling one match short of the top spot three times this season, the 26-year-old finally made history on Saturday by avenging her French Open loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals of the China Open. The win assures Halep will rise to No.1 on both the WTA rankings and Porsche Race to Singapore on Monday. 

Halep joined the wta insider podcast after the win to discuss her bumpy road to No.1, which required humility, persistence, and a devoted team who never let Halep stop believing.

"It was the toughest year but also the best year," Halep said on the WTA Insider Podcast. "At the beginning, it was very tough. I was injured and I didn't believe I would even be in Singapore. So being there now and being No.1 today, it's great. I can say that I forget everything [else]. I just enjoy the moment and take the very happy moments that had this year."