LONDON, June 25 (Agencies): Defending champion Simona Halep pulled out of Wimbledon on Friday after failing to recover from a calf injury she suffered last month, the world number three Romanian said.
In May Halep exited the claycourt event in Rome after suffering a calf injury during her second-round match against Angelique Kerber and was subsequently forced to miss the French Open.
"It is with great sadness that I'm announcing my withdrawal from The Championships as my calf injury has not fully recovered," the 29-year-old, who won the title when Wimbledon was last held in 2019, said on Instagram.
"I gave it everything I had in order to be ready to play Wimbledon and after having such special memories from two years ago, I was excited and honoured to step back on these beautiful courts as defending champion. "Unfortunately, my body didn't cooperate and I'll have to save that feeling for next year."
Halep was denied a chance to defend her title when Wimbledon was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She joins world number two Naomi Osaka in withdrawing from the grasscourt Grand Slam with the Japanese also skipping Wimbledon following her withdrawal from Roland Garros due to mental health issues. In their absence, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka will climb up to be the number two seed behind top-ranked Australian Ash Barty with the singles draw for both men and women to be held later on Friday.
Meanwhile, reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem pulled out of Wimbledon and two other tournaments on Thursday because of an injured right wrist.
Thiem would have been seeded No 4 at the All England Club, where main-draw action begins on Monday.
"I'm going to do everything the doctors say in order to recover as quickly as possible," Thiem said.
"They've informed me that I might be out for several weeks, but I will do my best to be back on court soon."
The 27-year-old from Austria retired during the opening set of his first match at the Mallorca Open grass-court tuneup tournament this week, citing his wrist.
Thiem then went to Barcelona for additional tests, which found what his management team said on Thursday is a "detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of the right wrist."
Thiem will need to wear a wrist splint for five weeks before starting a rehabilitation program. He said he will sit out Wimbledon and tournaments at Hamburg, Germany, and Gstaad, Switzerland.
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