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Simona Halep Australian Open

‘I am not feeling 100 per cent,’ says Simona Halep as she withdraws from Dubai


Defending champion Simona Halep has announced she will miss the Dubai Duty Free Championships due to ‘not feeling 100 per cent’.

The world number two captured the title last season when she got the better of Elena Rybakina in a tense final.

She, though, pulled out of Doha last week and it seems she still doesn’t feel fit enough to play.

ā€œUnfortunately I am not feeling 100 per cent in my lower back and I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Dubaiā€, Halep tweeted.

ā€œI have great memories from winning my 20th WTA title in Dubai last year so Iā€™m disappointed that I wonā€™t be able to defend my title.”

“I wish the team and everyone involved a successful tournament and I canā€™t wait to be back next year.”

Halep is scheduled to play the Miami Open next, although it is worth remembering she opted not to travel to America last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, she was vaccinated against the virus last month, so her stance may have since softened.


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.