Simona Halep pulls out of Western & Southern Open with an injury to her leg

Cincinnati (USA), Aug 18 : World No.6 Simona Halep has pulled out of the Western & Southern Open due to an injury to her right thigh.

In the end, the Russian was given a walkover into the round of 16 and will be facing either Paula Badosa or Ajla Tomljanovic.Halep took home her most prestigious victory in two years this week in the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.

The win boosted Halep Romanian into the top ten in the Top 10 for the first time in the past year.She beat Brazils Beatriz Haddad Maia in an exhausting three-set final and won 3-1, 2-6, 6-3.Within 48 hours of having won the title in Toronto, Halep was back on court in Cincinnati for her first-round match against Anastasia Potapova.She won in another three-set contest and won 6-4, 3-6, and 6-3 in two hours and eleven minutes.The win was Haleps 39th victory of the season, and she finished second just behind the worlds No.1 Iga Swiatek.But, she was forced to withdraw from the second round due to an injury the WTA report stated.

With the US Open less than two weeks away, Haleps injury to her leg is just one of several of injuries that plague players heading towards the last Slam of this season.Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova were also forced to pull out of Cincinnati because of ankle injuries.avn/bs.