Simona Halep has been forced to pull out of Australian Open qualifying after announcing her latest injury setback.

Former world No 1 Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion, initially received a wildcard into the qualifying draw in Melbourne as she looked to kickstart her return from her suspension.

The Romanian made an immediate return out after 18 months at the Miami Open back in March, cleared to compete after her four-year ban was cut down to nine months on appeal.

However, Halep has been dogged by injury issues since her return, playing just four matches across three official events since her opening Miami defeat to Paula Badosa.

She was recently in action at the World Tennis League, where she competed in the exhibition team event against the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina.

However, the 2018 Australian Open runner-up is now out of Melbourne and the preceding Auckland Open after feeling “pain” during the event in Abu Dhabi.

She wrote: “Hi guys, I wanted to wish you all happy holidays and provide a little update.

“After playing in Abu Dhabi, unfortunately I felt pain in my knee and shoulder once again.

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“After discussing with my team at length, we agreed it’s sensible to delay the start of my season. It’s not what I wanted but I would like to thank the tournament organisers in Auckland and Australia for the wildcards and I’m sorry I won’t be able to take them this time.

“I will rest up and intend for my next event to be Cluj, where I can’t wait to play in front of the amazing Romanian fans.”

Halep has played just one WTA-level event since in Miami, losing in the opening round of the Hong Kong Tennis Open to Yuan Yue in October.

She had previously reached the second round of the WTA 125 event in the city at the start of that month, beating Arina Rodionova to seal her first win in over two years before a heavy loss to Anna Blinkova.

Before that, the 33-year-old had not played since retiring injured against McCartney Kessler in the opening round of the WTA 125 Trophee Clarins back in May.

The winner of 24 WTA Tour singles titles and world No 1 for a total of 67 weeks, Halep is currently down at 877th in the rankings amid her stop-start comeback.

Halep’s next planned event, the Transylvania Open in Cluj, begins on February 3rd; she was a beaten finalist in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2021.

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