World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered a shock straight-sets defeat by Samantha Stosur at the WTA Championships in Doha on Wednesday.
Wozniacki lost 6-4 6-3 in her second Maroon Group game as she missed out on the chance to confirm her status as the season-ending world number one.
Vera Zvonareva won her second match to move closer to the semi-finals as she kept her world number one hopes alive.
And Kim Clisters made a winning return with victory over Jelena Jankovic.
In the first match of the night, second seed Zvonareva was not at her best but still managed to record a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory over Belarussian Victoria Azarenka in the White Group.
Zvonareva recovered from 2-0, 4-2 and 5-4 down in the first set, winning the tie-breaker with the help of an ace and several other big serves.
In the second set, she was behind 2-0 and 3-1 before winning 6-4 against a visibly frustrated Azarenka.
The Russian's win kept alive her slim hopes of overtaking Wozniacki as the season-ending world number one.
Zvonareva must win her last match in the group stage and then make it to the final if she is to have any chance of toppling Wozniacki.
Elsewhere in the White Group on Wednesday, Belgium's Clisters beat Serbia's Jankovic 6-2 6-3.
Clijsters had not competed since retaining her US Open title six weeks ago in New York but made a satisfactory start to her bid to win back the WTA Championships title she last won seven years ago.
There were few obvious signs of discomfort from the foot which still has a small wound from the operation last month to remove a mole, though Clijsters' tally of double faults did creep to a surprisingly high total of 10.
But the Belgian hit the ball well from the forehand side and struck 25 winners altogether, and on the big points she played well.
"It was my first match back, and I was happy - not with everything but I'll take that, and take the positive things into the next match," said Clijsters.
"I need to be a little more consistent and deliver fewer double faults, but I will try to be better tomorrow [Thursday]."
Wednesday's action ended with Stosur stunning Wozniacki.
Australian Stosur had too much pace and power for baseline battler Wozniacki, who needs one more win in Doha to secure the year-end number one ranking.
Stosur opened her Maroon Group campaign on Tuesday with a straight sets win over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and she produced another dominant display at the Khalifa Tennis Complex.
The first set went on serve until the 10th game when Stosur's relentless pressure paid off. With Wozniacki's serve lacking her customary zip, Stosur pressed home the advantage and forced the Dane into a weak lob that she put away to win 6-4.
In the second set, Stosur continued to take the game to Wozniacki, who began to show signs of frustration.
The Australian broke to go 3-1 up and with Wozniacki finding Stosur's serve too hot to handle the crowd sensed an upset.
The Danish 20-year-old had a glimmer of hope at 3-5 when Stosur double faulted twice, but the Australian held her nerve and closed out the set for the win.
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