Simona Halep of Romania in action during the second round of the 2021 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. IPA

Simona Halep withdraws from Wimbledon with calf injury

Defending women's singles champion Simona Halep has withdrawn from Wimbledon because of a calf injury, the world No. 3 announced Friday via Instagram.

Halep suffered the calf injury in May at a clay-court event in Rome during her second-round match against Angelique Kerber. The injury also caused her to miss the French Open.

The Romanian was denied the opportunity to defend her Wimbledon title when the event was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Halep joins Naomi Osaka, who also withdrew from the French Open, citing mental health concerns, in withdrawing from Wimbledon. In their absence, Aryna Sabalenka grabs the No. 2 seed behind top-ranked Australian Ash Barty.

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