Simona Halep of Constanta, Romania, the third-ranked player of the world, has pulled out of the 2021 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship because of a back injury according to Marwa Hamad of The Gulf News. The tournament is to start Monday in the United Arab Emirates. Halep is one of 12 players who will not be participating at the first WTA 1000 Series event of the season.
The other 11 even are Ashleigh Barty of Australia, Americans Jennifer Brady, Sofia Kenin, and Alison Riske, Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova, and Barbora Strycova, China’s Shuai Zheng, Poland’s Magda Linette, Croatia’s Donna Vekic, and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva. Barty and Andreescu are out with leg injuries.
Halep reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 Australian Open. Her biggest win came in the fourth round, when Halep beat the 15th seed, and reigning French Open champion, Iga Swiatek of Poland, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Halep also beat the 32nd seed, Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round.
Even though Halep reached the quarterfinals, she was passed in the world rankings at the Australian Open by eventual champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, who beat Brady in the final, 6-4, 6-3. Barty continues to be ranked the number one women’s tennis player in the world.
Halep is being replaced in Dubai by American phenom Jessica Pegula of Buffalo, New York, who made tennis headlines by reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open last month. Pegula defeated grand slam champions Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Samantha Stosur of Australia, as well as world number five, Elena Svitolina of the Ukraine.
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