WTA Finals: Simona Halep withdraws from Singapore with back injury as Kiki Bertens joins field
World number one pulls out of season-ending event to ‘put my long-term health first’ after persistent back issue that has plagued her in Asia fails to heal in time
The Romanian, whose secured her status as the year-end number one earlier this week, revealed the news on social media on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, after much discussion with my team and doctors, I have made the decision to withdraw from the WTA Finals in Singapore,” the 27-year-old wrote in a post on Twitter.
“I wanted to finish 2018 on a high after such an incredible year, but sadly my back injury hasn’t healed the way we hoped it would and I need to put my long-term health first.”
Halep broke her grand slam duck in 2018, winning her first major title at the French Open in June, after twice finishing runner-up at Roland Garros and once at the Australian Open.
She had been heading into Singapore as top seed but a persistent back problem saw her pull out of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow this week, after she retired just 31 minutes into her first-round match in Beijing last month.