Twice major champion Simona Halep has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open due to a thigh injury, the WTA said on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Romanian was set to face Veronika Kudermetova in the second round and the Russian will receive a walkover into the round of 16.
Halep recently won Canadian Open, putting her back in the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time in a year. She is now ranked sixth.
Halep, from Romania, also won the title in 2016 and 2018 when it was called the Rogers Cup. It was the 24th title of Halep’s career and first since switching to Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach.