Hell for Halep as knee forces her off court

The comeback scenario of Simona Halep has been blown up by the continuing  knee injury of the former world No. 1, with the 32-year-old telling fans she will need to take a break from tennis.

Halep’s return since being cleared of doping charges last spring has been fraught with obstacles caused mainly by her injury.

The Romanian made a comeback in march in Miami, losing in the first round to Paula Badosa before retiring in May at a lower-level clay tournament in Paris.

With anti-doping complications no longer a problem, Halep revealed in a social post that her career is currently stalled.

“Hi everyone, I wanted to provide a little health update since I have been away from the court lately,” she posted on Instagram.

“It is not the best news, but I wanted to share all the same. For a few months now, I have been struggling with a knee injury.

“It’s an injury I have never had before and it has been a tough one to manage, with the pain persisting.

“It has been a very difficult period (almost two years) mentally and emotionally for me and struggling physically on top of that definitely doesn’t help.

“I have decided to take the time needed to recover properly, rather than training and playing through pain.

“My instinct has always been to try to come back as soon as possible, but I am not a machine, I am a human being and I need time to recover from everything I have gone through.

Main photo: Paula Badosa and Simona Halep