Simona Halep found some time to issue an update to her fans on Thursday as the former world No. 1 confirmed that she was indeed battling a knee injury on Wednesday and admitted that she wasn’t hoping her return to action would go that way.
After being cleared by the CAS to return to action from her doping ban, Halep officially played her first match back on March 19th in Miami. Three weeks later, Halep was scheduled to play in Oeiras and then also participate at the Madrid Open – but a knee issue didn’t allow the Romanian to play in those two tournaments.
After being sidelined for nearly two months, Halep was finally able to return to action this week and start her clay season at a WTA 125 tournament in Trophée Clarins. Early in the match, Halep was looking full of energy and she went up by a set on McCartney Kessler after winning the opener with a 7-5 scoreline.
But then in the second set, Halep started touching her knee and checking it – which was a clear indication that she was again dealing with knee pain and discomfort. With Kessler up by a break and leading 3-2 in the second set, Halep walked to the net and shook the American’s hand.
Simona Halep: It was my knee, I will now rest and keep believing
“Well, yesterday didn’t go as I hoped on court. The knee pain that has been lingering since Miami came back and unfortunately I couldn’t continue. It’s not the way I would have liked to spend my time in Paris, but no one said this comeback was going to be easy,” Halep wrote on X.
“I will rest and then keep working and keep believing in my journey. Thank you to those of you supporting me, I see your messages and they mean the world to me.”
https://x.com/Simona_Halep/status/1791111710868193761
Since Halep didn’t receive a main draw or even a qualifying wildcard for the French Open, she won’t play again until at least the grass season.
