Romanian tennis player and women’s former world no. 1 Simona Halep said that she decided to withdraw from the Australian Open due to knee and shoulder pain felt after playing in Abu Dhabi. She had received a wild card for the qualifiers of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025.

“After discussing with my team at length, we agreed it is sensible to delay the start of my season,” Halep wrote on Instagram, as quoted by News.ro.

“It’s not what I wanted, but I would like to thank the tournament organisers in Auckland and Australia for the wild cards,” she added.

Halep said she would “rest up” and confirmed her presence in the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca in February.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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