The head of the Palermo Open has voiced his frustration towards world No.2 Simona Halep after it was confirmed that she has withdrawn from the tournament on Sunday.
Oliviero Palma described Halep’s decision as ‘great bitterness’ following doubts over her participation in recent days amid changes in local rules. Officials have implemented a policy where travellers from Romania and Bulgaria to Italy would have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the tournament confirmed that this rule would not be applied to professional tennis players after speaking with the Regional assessor of Health.
Despite the best efforts of Palma and his team, Halep has now decided to pull out of the tournament which is the first to take place in the revised WTA calendar. The decision was confirmed by Halep’s management. Virginia Ruzici reportedly said the decision was due to the anti-COVID restrictions that have been placed on Romanians and Bulgarians.
“We found out Halep’s decision with great bitterness. Yesterday we were optimistic, and we had informed Halep’s staff about the fact that professional players are not obliged to quarantine,” Palma said in a statement.
“The Regional assessor of Health, Ruggero Razza, had directly sent to Halep an official communication explaining how the Ordinance of the Ministry of Health was not to be applied to workers, therefore neither to professional tennis players”.
“Nevertheless, Halep’s staff only communicated us the final decision, frustrating all our efforts. We are embittered and profoundly disappointed.”
In a Twitter post Halerp said her decision to skip Italy was due to her ‘anxiety’ over international travel at present due to the pandemic. The move comes just three days after she committed to playing at the Prague Open, which takes place the week after Palmero. It is unclear if her upcoming presence in the Czech Republic is in doubt.
“Given the recent rise in Covid19 cases in Romania and my anxieties around international air travel at this time, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Palermo. I want to thank the tournament director and the Italian ministry of health for all efforts on my behalf,” she said.
Besides Halep, one media outlet has also reported that Karolina Pliskova could be another player in doubt for the event. Daily national newspaper Giornale di Sicilia has said the world No.3 is yet to make a full commitment to playing. Although no official comment has been made from either Plaikova or her management.
Despite the setback, this year’s field in Palermo will still have a strong line-up. Jelena Ostapenko, Marketa Vondrousova, Johanna Konta, Petra Martic and Maria Sakkari are all set to play.
