Has Caroline Garcia had the last “LOL”?
It would be easy to think so after her crescendo finish to the tennis season, which included back-to-back singles titles in China (Wuhan and Beijing).
She, not any of her once-skeptical French compatriots, is in the top 10 for the first time and she is one of eight who qualified for the WTA Finals that start on Sunday in Singapore.
It has been an impressive, unexpected surge — full of grit, power and clutch shots, none more essential than the backhand winner down the line that saved a match point against Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals in Beijing.