Emotional Simona Halep called it the best day of her life as she surged to No. 1 in the world for the first time after reaching the China Open final on Saturday. The Romanian, who said her next goal was to win a maiden Grand Slam, defeated Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in their semi-final. Her ousting of Spaniard Garbine Muguruza at the top of the women's game will be officially confirmed on Monday when the latest rankings are released. Halep, 26, is the fifth woman to hold top spot this year, but the first Romanian in the history of the WTA.

Simona Halep is presented with a bouquet in the shape of number 1 in Beijing on Saturday. Pics/AFP