'So sad': Tennis fans left devastated over Simona Halep news

Tennis fans have been left devastated for Simona Halep after the two-time grand slam champion announced her withdrawal from the Miami Open on Thursday.

The Romanian star was scheduled to play Australia's Daria Saville in the second round but took to social media to announce that she wasn't able to play.

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The former World No.1 said she suffered a thigh injury during her Indian Wells semi-final defeat to Iga Swiatek last week and it caused her discomfort again while training on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old said she will now miss the Charleston Open and start of Romania's Billie Jean King Cup campaign.

"While I was practising in Miami yesterday I felt a sharp pain in my left leg," Halep wrote on Twitter.

"I had been struggling with the thigh since my semi-final in Indian Wells and hoped it would improve, but I went for an MRI last night and unfortunately it showed a tear.

"My body needs time to heal and as a result I will be out of competition for three weeks.

"This means I have had to make the super tough decision to pull out of Miami, Charleston and Fed Cup.

"While it feels like really disappointing news to share, I am keeping the confidence from my great start to the year and am motivated to do everything to be ready for the clay-court season.

"Thanks for your continued support through the highs and lows."

Fans were left gutted for the Romanian star after a number of injury-plagued years.

Instead of facing the two-time grand slam champion, Saville was instead booked to face World No.91 Harmony Tan, who got knocked out in qualifying but now gets a second chance as a 'lucky loser'.

Naomi Osaka continues winning ways

Elsewhere on Thursday, Naomi Osaka advanced to the third round with a straight-sets victory over fellow former World No.1 Angelique Kerber.

Osaka took exactly one hour to despatch Kerber 6-2, 6-3 and moves on to face Karolina Muchova.

Kerber held a 4-1 career head-to-head advantage over Osaka heading into the match, but the Japanese star was way too good on Thursday.

Kerber dropped her serve in just the second game, allowing Osaka to quickly wrap up the first set.

Osaka broke her again at 5-2 and converting her second set point.

The second stanza was more of the same as Osaka controlled the points with confident groundstrokes.

The four-time major winner got shaky when she tried to settle the encounter but sealed the deal on her third match point.

“She’s like the first high-seeded player I’ve beaten this year,” Osaka said in her on-court interview.

“I feel like I came into the match wanting to dictate. My power on the shots was working really well.”

Osaka appears to be mentally refreshed in Miami having revealed that she has started seeing a therapist.

“I kind of realise anything that I do from this point is like a bonus,” she said.

“Of course, I want to win all the tournaments that I play. I want to win more grand slams. But at this point in my life, I just want to be grateful for being healthy.

“There’s a lot of really good players that might get injured or might get sick. I actually haven’t gotten injured ever.

"Granted my career is quite short. I’ve been able to achieve a lot. Hopefully I achieve more. But I think I need to stay grounded.”

with AAP

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