Simona Halep Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Defending champion Simona Halep out of Dubai Championships with back problem

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/4/21

Simona Halep, ranked No. 3 in the world, has confirmed via Twitter that she won't play in next week's Dubai Tennis Championships because of a lower back issue:

Wishing the @DubaiDutyFree team and everyone involved a successful tournament and I can’t wait to be back next year
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) March 4, 2021

As noted by Reuters (h/t ESPN), Halep is the defending champion of the Dubai event scheduled to run from March 7-13. The 29-year-old also missed the Qatar Open in Doha and hasn't played a competitive match since she fell to American and all-time great Serena Williams in straight sets in the Australian Open quarterfinals last month.

Halep also won the Dubai tournament in 2015.

World No. 1 Ash Barty is recovering from a leg injury and also won't play in Dubai.

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