The situation is getting worse for world number two Simona Halep. Tennis had been disrupted due to the pandemic which forced players to stay home and struggle with their fitness. As matches are now set to resume, players need practice, especially match practice. And since the Grand Slams start in a month, smaller tournaments have become important. For Simona Halep however, her troubles seem to be on the rise.

She did sign up to play in the first tournament of the Palermo open beginning on August 3. But as luck would have it, the Italian government has recently put a new set of rules in place. People coming from Romania and Bulgaria will have to go through the mandatory 14-day quarantine. This would rule out any chance of Halep playing in the Palermo Open.

Palermo Open’s statement on Simona Halep

In a statement released by Oliviero Palma, Director of the Palermo Open, he says that they are in talks with the government to make an exemption for Halep. They are confident of their safety precautions and want the government to review their decision.

“The provision would penalize a player like Simona Halep, world’s number 2 and Wimbledon’s reigning champion, who wouldn’t take part in Palermo’s tournament anymore. Regardless of the player’s value and the attention her presence fosters over the first tournament after the suspension for the pandemic, we wrote a letter to the Minister because we’re convinced that the health protocols adopted by the WTA are so strict to guarantee the safety and health not only of athletes, yet also of all the various workers involved in the event,” Palma said.

“We wrote an urgent letter to the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, asking for a derogation to the last ordinance for tennis players taking part in the 31st Palermo Ladies Open,” he added.

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This surely is bad news for Halep. Due to the Coronavirus, she would have preferred playing in Europe this season. But these government protocols could give a serious blow to her comeback.

Source: PalermoLadiesOpen.com