| Advertisement |
May 21 (UPI) -- Simona Halep will not play in the 2021 French Open due to a calf injury, the third-ranked women's tennis player in the world announced Friday. "It's with a heavy heart that I announce my withdrawal from Roland Garros this year," Halep wrote on social media.
Advertisement
"Unfortunately the tear in my left calf needs more time to recover and the timeline is just too short. Withdrawing from a Grand Slam goes against all my instincts and aspirations as an athlete, but it is the right and only decision to make."
The 2021 French Open starts Monday and ends June 13 in Paris. Halep, 29, won the clay-court Grand Slam in 2018.
She sustained the calf tear during her second-round match against Angelique Kerber in the Italian Open on May 12 in Rome. Halep won the first set 6-1, but the match ended with a second-set walkover.
"The thought of not being in Paris fills me with sadness, but I will focus my energy on recovery, staying positive and getting back on court as soon as it is safe to do so," Halep wrote.
"Roland Garros 2022, I'm coming for you!"
The former No. 1 player in the WTA rankings finished as a runner-up in 2014 and 2017 at Roland Garros. She lost in the fourth round of the 2020 French Open to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
