Romania's Jaqueline Cristian has advanced to her first WTA final after former world No. 1 Simona Halep pulled out a few hours before their semifinal clash on Thursday, citing a knee injury she sustained in Wednesday's quarterfinal.
Cristian, who is ranked No. 100, is only the fifth "lucky loser" since 2000 to reach a WTA final. The previous one was American Coco Gauff, who did it at the same Austrian indoor event two years ago, and ended up winning the title.
The 23-year-old lost in qualifying but still made the main draw after another Romanian player, Sorana Cirstea, withdrew from the event.
Elsewhere, Alison Riske advanced to the final of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Thursday when fellow American Danielle Collins pulled out of their match with a right arm injury after losing the first set 7-5.
The final will be Riske's second of the season, after losing to Jasmine Paolini of Italy in Portoroz, Slovenia, in September.
"Honestly, I don't have words for it," said the 73rd-ranked American, who has two career WTA titles and was ranked 18th two years ago before various injuries forced her out for nine months.
"I had a really rocky year. It's been a slow process coming back. I get emotional thinking about it because it's definitely been a journey. So, I'm very grateful to be in the final."
Riske went 3-1 down against the third-seeded Collins, but leveled for 3-3 and had another break at 5-5 before closing out the set with a love game on her serve.
Collins, who played with her right arm taped, was attended by a physio but quickly hinted that she couldn't play on. She hugged Riske before leaving the court.