Injured Simona Halep out of Wuhan Open, to play in Moscow

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the WTA’s No.1 player, lost her second round match in straight sets at the Wuhan Open at the hands of Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. Halep, who injured her back during a pre-tournament training session, also received treatment on her left thigh.

The Romanian lost 6-0, 7-5 to the former BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore champion.

“It was tough to play in the beginning because my back was blocked,” Halep said after the match, quoted by the WTA. “I knew it was, because we talked together with my team. Normally, I’d have to retire, but I didn’t want to, and I don’t like to do that. I just pushed myself to play better and better,” she added.

“I like to play. I came here, and I wanted to give everything until the last hope and chance,” she said. “I was still close in the second set, so a match like this can give me confidence that my level is really good. I’m not disappointed, but I’m just sad this injury came from nowhere. I’m just going to go with the flow, and we’ll see what’s going to happen in a few days.”

“Today I was playing really well,” Cibulkova also said. “It wasn’t easy with her medical timeouts, tough mentally. I’m glad I made it through in the end.” She will face Russia’s Daria Kasatkina next, the tournament’s 13th seed.

Halep will play in Moscow next, where she has accepted a wild card.