Tennis-Halep pulls out of Bad Homburg semis with neck issue

Former world number one Simona Halep pulled out of her semi-final match at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany on Friday due to a neck issue, days before the start of Wimbledon.

Former world number one Simona Halep pulled out of her semi-final match at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany on Friday due to a neck issue, days before the start of Wimbledon. The 30-year-old Romanian was due to play Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who will advance to the final of the WTA 250 event against a Frenchwoman - either Alize Cornet or Caroline Garcia.

"I am sorry that I had to withdraw today before my semi-final match," Halep, currently ranked 19th, was quoted as saying by the organizers. "But unfortunately I woke up this morning with a blocked neck and this is not allowing me to perform to the best of my ability."

Halep won Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, in 2019, and has a tricky first-round match against Czech Karolina Muchova.