'Terrible news': Tennis fans shattered by Simona Halep announcement

Former champion Simona Halep has left fans devastated after announcing her withdrawal from the French Open.

The 2018 Roland Garros champion was unable to overcome a calf muscle injury in time to play the grand slam starting on May 30.

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Halep retired from her Italian Open second-round match against Angelique Kerber last week.

An ultrasound later revealed a tear in her left calf.

"It's with a heavy heart that I announce my withdrawal from @rolandgarros this year," tweeted the World No.3 on Friday.

"Unfortunately the tear in my left calf needs more time to recover and the timeline is just too short.

"Withdrawing from a grand slam goes against all my instincts and aspirations as an athlete, but it is the right and only decision to make.

"The thought of not being in Paris fills me with sadness, but I will focus my energy on recovery, staying positive and getting back on court as soon as it is safe to do so.

"Roland Garros 2022, I’m coming for you!"

The former World No.1 won her maiden grand slam title at the French Open in 2018, beating American Sloane Stephens in the final, before winning Wimbledon in 2019 against Serena Williams in the final.

Fans were left shattered by the news, sending their condolences to Halep on social media.

Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray out of French Open

Halep joins Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray as high-profile names who won't be playing the French Open.

On Wednesday, Wawrinka has announced his sad withdrawal after failing to recover from foot surgery in time.

The 36-year-old Swiss star won the clay-court grand slam in 2015 and also finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2017.

He hasn't played on the ATP Tour since an opening round loss in March, before undergoing a minor procedure on his left foot.

Wawrinka's team initially said he would be out for a few weeks, but the recovery time has since been extended.

"After having a small surgery on his foot in March, as much as we had hoped he'd be ready to play in Paris, he wasn't able to come back to full fitness in time," a spokesperson for Wawrinka's team said.

"Stan is now working hard with his team for the grass-court season and hopes to hit the ground running in June."

And Murray has decided to skip the clay-court grand slam to focus on the grass-court season as well.

The former World No.1 made his return from a groin injury with a training week and two doubles matches in Rome last week and had been expected to play singles.

But he is still feeling some discomfort and has headed back home for more rehab and to begin training on his favourite surface, with full fitness for Wimbledon now the clear goal.

The Scot, who has played just one match on clay since 2017, had entered qualifying for the French Open but could also have been given a wild card had he proved his fitness.

It comes as yet another setback for Murray, who turned 34 recently and has played just three tour-level singles matches this year.

He suffered an untimely bout of coronavirus that prevented him travelling to the Australian Open and then picked up the groin injury in his sleep ahead of the Miami Open in March.

with agencies

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