Former world No. 1 Simona Halep is forced to skip the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers due to medical reasons.
Halep, 32, was out of action for a year and a half before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled her appeal in her anti-doping case as successful and she returned to action in Miami.
Shortly after Halep took a main draw wildcard into Miami, it was also announced that she agreed to represent Romania in their BJK Cup qualifiers tie against Ukraine, which is scheduled to take place between April 12-13.
Simona Halep© Getty Images Sport – Megan Briggs
But unfortunately for the Romanian BJK Cup team, the two-time Grand Slam champion appears to be dealing with an injury and she won’t be making her first appearance in the competition since 2019.
“Due to medical reasons, Simona Halep will not be able to join the Romanian team for the Billie Jean King Cup match against the Ukrainian team,” the Romanian Tennis Federation said in a statement..
Halep was supposed to lead the Romanian team against Ukraine
Although Halep currently doesn’t have a ranking, she was still the biggest name on the Romanian team when they announced her, world No. 66 Ana Bogdan, 82nd-ranked Jaqueline Cristian, and two players ranked outside the top-200 – Anca Alexia Todoni and Mara Gae.
Simona Halep© Getty Images Sport – Brennan Asplen
On the other side, Ukraine named 2023 Wimbledon semifinalist Elina Svitolina, Lesia Tsurenko, Yulia Starodubtseva, Lyudmila and Nadiia Kichenok.
Since Ukraine is listed as the host but hosting the tie in Ukraine was not possible, Fernandina Beach in the United States was selected as the location for the tie.
With Halep out of the tie, Ukraine is now undoubtedly the favorite as they have a star name in Svitolina and someone whose presence could easily decide the winner.
Meanwhile, Halep will now presumably focus on overcoming whatever she is dealing with so it doesn’t impact her much during the upcoming clay season.
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