Simona Halep, the former French Open champion, withdrew herself from the Italian Open second-round match against Angelique Kerber on Wednesday due to a calf injury, casting doubt on her appearance at Roland Garros. Third seed Halep was leading 6-1 3-3 when she showed signs of pain when attempting to hit her German opponent’s first serve.
Halep massaged her left calf before hobbling to her desk, where she was treated by a physiotherapist. Unable to travel, Halep opted to withdraw from the match and needed assistance to leave the court, casting doubt on her ability to compete in the French Open, which begins on May 30.
Halep later announced via Twitter that an ultrasound revealed a tear in her left calf.
Unfortunately an ultrasound has revealed that I have a tear in my left calf. I will get an MRI tomorrow to understand the injury in more detail, but at the moment we are unsure of recovery time. I’m so disappointed to end my tournament in Rome like this… pic.twitter.com/Fx58WWg796
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) May 12, 2021
In the round of 16, Kerber will meet another former French Open champion, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.
