Simona Halep can have an opportunity to earn a spot within the Australian Open essential draw after the event organizers determined to award her a qualifying wildcard.
The Romanian tennis star, who was doping banned for a yr and a half earlier than returning to tennis in March, was restricted to only 4 tournaments in 2024 attributable to accidents and he or she is presently ranked at No. 877 on the planet – which is way from the rating she must immediately get into the main-level tournaments.
With that being stated, Halep wanted assist from the Australian Open officers. And so they discovered a qualifying wildcard for his or her 2018 runner-up.
Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki© YouTube screenshot
“Can’t wait to be back,” the 33-year-old wrote on X.
Cannot wait to be again 🙏 https://t.co/5U9JQUgwxW
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) December 18, 2024 Halep set for her thirteenth Australian Open essential draw look
In 2010, the Romanian misplaced within the qualifying first spherical at Melbourne Park.
However between 2011 and 2022, the two-time Grand Slam champion did not miss a single event version at Melbourne Park. Her greatest end result got here in 2018 when she made the ultimate earlier than dropping to Caroline Wozniacki. The Romanian was additionally a semifinalist in 2020.
In the meantime, Halep went 1-4 in her comeback this previous season. Nonetheless, she was battling a knee damage that sidelined her for 5 months and he or she misplaced to Yuan Yue within the Hong Kong Open first spherical in late October.
After the match, the previous world No. 1 publicly acknowledged that she would wish some assist so as to get into the Australian Open but in addition another tournaments.
“It depends on the wildcards, but I just want to work harder because I need a stronger body to perform at this level. I will take it slow. I have to give myself patience and try to get better day by day,” she stated after her Hong Kong exit.
In her final Australian Open look in 2022, the Romanian misplaced to Alize Cornet within the round-of-16.
