The World No.1 Simona Halep has not played a match since retiring with a back injury in the opening round of the China Open in September. That injury would sideline her for the remainder of the season and force her to leave her racquets in the bag for six weeks after the WTA Finals, a break that’s twice as long as most players can allow themselves. We’ll be keeping an eye on Halep to see how she’s moving, how her back holds up in competition, and how quickly she shakes off the rust, wtatennis.com informs.
Halep is the only Top 10 player we have yet to see strike a tennis ball in the first week of the season – No.2 Kerber looked incredibly sharp at Hopman Cup, where she went undefeated in singles – so all eyes will be on Sydney when she takes the court for her first match. After a first-round bye, Halep will play against Ashleigh Barty in the second round, who defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3.
Photo: Instagram Simona Halep