Simona Halep returns a shot during a Women's Singles match at the 2021 US Open, Sunday, Sep. 5, 2021 in Flushing, NY. (Brad Penner/USTA)
The inaugural Transylvania Open suffered a double blow today after Spanish compatriots Garbine Muguruza and Paula Badosa withdrew from the new WTA 250 event in Cluj Napoca.
Also missing in action will be Ekaterina Alexandrova, Viktoria Golubic, Veronika Kudermetova, Kaia Kanepi, and Mayar Sherif meaning just one of the current WTA top 20 will be in action.
Muguruza had played in this week’s VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, reaching the quarterfinals but was well beaten by Estonian Anett Kontaveitt 6-1, 6-1,who went on to reach Sunday’s final.
Badosa won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells last week while Alexandrova reached the final of Sunday’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow after her opponent Maria Sakkari was forced to retire at 4-1 in the first set.
That leaves Simona Halep as the highest ranked player in the tournament and improves the chances of US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who will play in her father Ian’s homeland.
Main photo:- Simona Halep will be top seed in her home tournament in Cluj Napoca
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