Romania’s Simona Halep had to pull out of the Italian Open this week after suffering an abdominal injury. The announcement came a few hours after she defeated Madison Keys 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 in the second round of the Premier Mandatory event. The fifth-ranked player was fresh from a runner-up finish at last week’s Madrid Open.
Despite the pull-out, Halep is guaranteed a new career-high ranking next week. She will have accumulated enough points to overtake Victoria Azarenka in fourth in the world’s rankings. Halep will now take a much-needed break in order to prepare for the Roland Garros tournament which begins on May 25.
The loss means Carla Suarez Navarro will have a free pass to the quarterfinals. Navarro defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-2 earlier on Wednesday.
