Halep forced to skip one of her most successful tournaments.
Simona Halep will have to wait for a little bit longer to start her clay season as the two-time Grand Slam champion is forced to skip the Madrid Open.
Halep, who played her first tournament in a year and a half at the Miami Open in March, was scheduled to kick off her clay season at this past week’s WTA 125 tournament in Oeiras. But just days before the start of the tournament, it was announced that Halep was withdrawing from the tournament after experiencing some knee pain and discomfort during a practice session.
After Halep withdrew from Oeiras, Halep was slated to play her first clay tournament of the year in Madrid, for which she was awarded a wildcard. But unfortunately, the former world No. 1 won’t be playing in Madrid either.
“Unfortunately my body needs a little more time to be ready and I have made the tough decision not to play in Madrid. Tough because I want to be back on tour asap (as soon as possible), but experience tells me not to rush. Thank you to @MutuaMadridOpen who offered me the wild card and to my fans,” Halep announced on X.
Unfortunately my body needs a little more time to be ready and I have made the tough decision not to play in Madrid. Tough because I want to be back on tour asap, but experience tells me not to rush. Thank you to @MutuaMadridOpen who offered me the wild card and to my fans ♥️🙏 pic.twitter.com/s9ex85Otio
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) April 21, 2024
Madrid has been a happy hunting place for Halep
So far in her career, 32-year-old Halep has made 11 appearances in Madrid. After suffering three consecutive first-round defeats in Madrid between 2011 and 2013, Halep made the Madrid final in 2014 – in which she lost to Maria Sharapova in three sets.
Two years later, Halep returned to the Madrid final but this time won the title after beating Dominika Cibulkova. In 2017, Halep repeated as the Madrid champion after defeating Kristina Mladenovic in the final. After failing to complete a three-peat in 2018, Halep reached her third Madrid final in 2019 – but lost to Kiki Bertens.
In her last Madrid appearance in 2022, Halep was beaten by Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinal.
For Halep, missing Madrid is certainly very disappointing as it has been one of her most successful tournaments.