DOHA: World number one Ashleigh Barty and Sofia Kenin take top billing at the Qatar Open which starts Monday under strict COVID-19 safety protocols and without Simona Halep.
The Romanian world number three’s withdrawal from Doha follows her Australian Open quarter-final loss to Serena Williams.
“Unfortunately I’ve decided to withdraw, I can’t wait to be back in Doha next year,” she told organisers, giving no reason for missing the March 1-6 tournament.
Her absence leaves Barty and Kenin, fourth in the world and winner of the Australian Open in 2020, the headline acts with the highest-ranked Arab player in WTA history Ons Jabeur as well as Egypt’s Mayar Sherif also taking to the hard courts in Doha.
At Melbourne Park Halep, 29, was thwarted by Williams in her bid for a maiden triumph at the year’s opening Grand Slam after falling short to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2018 decider, and losing in straight sets to Garbine Muguruza in last year’s semi-finals.
The delayed Australian Open was characterised by a hard lockdown which saw players confined to their quarantine hotels, highlighting the challenges of staging sporting events in the age of Covid.
Qatar has pressed ahead with events despite seeing an uptick in virus cases, staging the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this month with stadiums at 30 percent capacity.
America’s Denis Kudla was told he had tested positive for the coronavirus mid-match at the Australian Open qualifying tournament in Doha last month. He then sealed victory before going into quarantine.
– ‘Hungry to play’ –
Qatar recorded 118 new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days, up two percent from the week before.