Simona Halep’s China woes continue with Wuhan retirement

Sep 26, 2019 06:00 am

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep was left disappointed yesterday after suffering a fresh injury setback in China that forced her to retire from the Wuhan Open with a lower-back problem.

Halep, who suffered a herniated disc at the China Open in Beijing a year ago, led Elena Rybakina by a break and looked on her way to winning the first set before her Kazakh opponent drew level.

During the changeover after the ninth game, Halep took a medical timeout for treatment to her back but, soon after, the former world No. 1 retired while serving at 4-5, 30-30.

"At 4-4, 0-30 with the backhand, I had a sharp pain," Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion , revealed.

"I don't know yet, but it looks a little bit different (to the injury I had in Beijing), but it's still the same zone. I started to play well this tournament. I'm disappointed it happened again with the back." - AFP