Simona Halep surprised the organization of the WTA event in Palermo after she decided to withdraw from the tournament. Romania has been experiencing a surge in the Coronavirus infections and the Italian Government issued an order that people that have been in Romania or Bulgaria in the previous 2 weeks should be in quarantine.
Eventually, the tournament director reassured Simona and her team that she didn’t have to quarantine as workers and therefore professional players were not required to be confined.
Why Simona Halep won’t play in Palermo
Surprisingly, Halep announced her retirement from the tournament releasing the following statement on Twitter:
“Given the recent rise in Covid19 cases in Romania and my anxieties around international air travel at this time, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Palermo. I want to thank the tournament director and the Italian ministry of health for all efforts on my behalf.”
Simona is still scheduled to compete in Prague where she will be the seed no.1.
Simona Halep in 2020
Now ranked 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.
This season Simona has a 10-2 win-loss record. Simona conquered 1 title in Dubai.
