title, defeating Dominika Cibulková in the final of the Madrid Open to return to the top 5. She did not continue this form into the French Open, losing to Samantha Stosur in the fourth round in a controversial match where play continued in rainy conditions. Halep fared better at Wimbledon, losing to eventual runner-up No. 4 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals. Halep followed up Wimbledon with back-to-back titles at the Bucharest Open and the Canadian Open, her last two titles of the year. She also made her first career WTA doubles final at the Canadian Open, finishing runner-up to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina alongside compatriot Monica Niculescu. In singles, Halep was able to defeat Kerber in Canada in the semifinals, and won in the final against No. 12 Madison Keys. However, she lost to Kerber in the semifinals at her next event, the Cincinnati Open. At the US Open, Halep made another Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to world No. 1, Serena Williams in a tight three-set match. Her best result of the last stage of the year was a semifinal at the Wuhan Open, where she lost to eventual champion Petra Kvitová. For the second straight year, Halep ended the season by failing to advance out of her round robin group at the WTA Finals. After a win against No. 7 Keys and a loss to No. 1 Kerber, Halep only needed to win a set against No. 8 Cibulková to advance, but lost in straight sets. She finished the season ranked No. 4 in the world. 2017: 2nd French Open final, world No. 1 For the second straight season, Halep had a slow start to the year. She once again lost in the opening round at the Australian Open to Shelby Rogers and did not win multiple matches at an event until the Miami Open in late March where she made the quarterfinals. During this time, she was having issues with her left knee. Halep rebounded during the clay court season, reaching at least the semifinals at all four events she entered. She defended her title at the Madrid Open to secure a Premier Mandatory title for the third consecutive year. She also made the final the following week at the Premier 5 Italian Open, but finished runner-up to No. 11 Elina Svitolina. At the French Open, she faced Svitolina again in the quarterfinals and fell behind a