Halep withdraws from Palermo, even though she would be exempt from quarantine

The first WTA tournament after a five-month coronavirus pandemic hiatus will be the 31st Palermo Ladies Open and after yesterday’s announcement that the event organizers asked Italian Health Minister to make Romanian tennis players exempt from a 14-day quarantine in Italy, we’re now learning that Simona Halep will not travel to Sicily, even though the quarantine measure wouldn’t be applied to her.

On Sunday afternoon, the world No.2 Halep released a statement on Twitter:

Given the recent rise in COVID-19 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…