Simona Halep has recently expressed her doubts about playing the US Open under the current conditions. Eventually, it has been confirmed that she won’t compete outside Europe when tennis resumes, and therefore she won’t play the American slam.
As stated by Eurosport., Simona will not participate in any event in both the US and in Asia. This means that the Romanian ace will definitely skip the WTA Finals.
What Simona said
Recently Simona commented as follows
“I definitely have strong concerns about going there with those conditions. Not only because we’re in the middle of a global pandemic. But also because of the risk of travel, potential quarantine, and then the changes around the tournament,” she commented.
Skipping the US Open among the uncertainty seems to make sense also because the world no.2 didn’t have much success over there recently. Halep won just 1 match in the last 3 years at the Flushing Meadows.
Și-a antrenat serviciul spre exteriorul terenului,@Simona_Halep a pus pariu cu antrenorul sau ca nimereste semnele puse pe teren pe 20 de flotari si le-a lovit din prima. Va participa in 2020 doar la turneele din Europa. pic.twitter.com/BkzqwWsnM5
— Nedelcu Iulian (@IulianNedelcu) June 16, 2020
The Roland Garros the main target
Simona’s decision confirms also that she will be fully focussed on the upcoming short clay-court season that should take place from early September. This makes sense for the Romanian whose favorite surface is clay and her best chances to win yet another slam is the Roland Garros. Also, Simona has been training on the dirt for sometimes, and she had probably in mind from the beginning to focus on the French Open.
Simona Halep in 2020
Currently the world no.2, Simona played her last match on the 22nd of February when she beat Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 7-65 in the final in Dubai to win her 20th career title.
At the moment, this season Halep has a 10-2 win-loss record. Halep clinched 1 title in Dubai.