World number two Iga Swiatek was eliminated from the WTA Finals on Thursday after Barbora Krejcikova defeated Coco Gauff to secure her spot in the semi-finals at the expense of the Pole.

The Czech Wimbledon champion claimed a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Gauff to end the title defence of Swiatek, who needed Krejcikova to lose in order to progress from the group stage.

With one win and one loss under her belt entering the last day of round-robin play, Swiatek's 6-1, 6-0 victory over alternate Daria Kasatkina did not have any bearing on her qualification chances.

The only scenario that would have led to Swiatek's advancement to the semi-finals would have been a Gauff win over Krejcikova.

That result did not materialise though, and Krejcikova punched her ticket to the semi-finals of the WTA Finals for the first time – on her second singles appearance.

Krejcikova moves forward as the winner of the Orange Group, and will face Zheng Qinwen in Friday's last-four stage, with Gauff of the United States advancing as the runner-up to set up a semi-final showdown with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

"Definitely this is a big win for me. I'm really happy with how I played and with my performance today. It was a really big match," said Krejcikova, who saved a remarkable 11 of 12 break points against Gauff.

"Playing tomorrow again is something unimaginable before this tournament and I'm really proud of myself and I'm looking forward to the new challenges.

"I was just fighting for every ball, and I knew it's going to be difficult because I know Coco is on a roll and she's one of the best players this season," she added. "That was a huge challenge but also the big prize, the semis was on the table – I am super excited to be here."

Gauff saved two match points in a 10-minute final game and had three opportunities to break Krejcikova but the eighth seed would not fold, and she scooped the victory with a service winner after one hour and 42 minutes of play.

Krejcikova, who has won just 21 matches this season, earned her place in the WTA Finals field due to a new rule introduced by the Tour in 2024, which gives priority to a reigning Grand Slam champion over the eighth-ranked player in the race.

As the Wimbledon champion, Krejcikova grabbed the last spot in Riyadh over world number eight Emma Navarro, who chose not to come to Saudi Arabia as an alternate. (AFP)