LINZ – Two-time Grand Slam title winner Simona Halep withdrew from her WTA Linz semi-final with a knee injury while Danielle Collins retired after one set of her last-four clash.
Second seed Halep suffered a left knee injury in her quarter-final victory on Wednesday over Jasmine Paolini.
“Unfortunately I am not able to play in my semi-final this evening after injuring my knee in my match,” Halep said in a statement.
“I would do anything to be able to play, but it is swollen and painful and playing will only make it worse.”
“I want to say a huge thank you to the tournament and fans here at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz for a fantastic week. I hope to be back,” Halep added.
In the other semi-final, Collins dropped the first set to American compatriot Alison Riske before retiring with an injured right shoulder.
Halep’s streak of winning at least one WTA title every year between 2013 and 2020 has now ended.
While injury prevented the all-Romanian semifinal between Halep and Cristian from happening, the all-American derby between Riske and Collins did at least begin.
However, Collins’ right shoulder was heavily strapped. Despite taking a 3-1 lead thanks to some rocket returns, the 27-year-old was both error-prone and emotionally flat.
After Riske broke back with a backhand winner, she gradually took control as Collins’ level dropped. Having won just four matches this year through the US Open and seen her ranking drop from No.26 at the start of the year to a current No.73, Riske has enjoyed an autumn resurgence. She was runner-up in Portoroz to Paolini in September, and her record since then is 11-5.
“I had a really rocky year,” Riske explained. “I was injured for about nine months. I was just healthy starting at Wimbledon, and it’s been a slow process coming back – I get emotional thinking about it because it’s definitely been a journey.”
Elsewhere, Maria Sakkari used her strong first serve to extend her dominance over former French Open champoin Iga Swiatek with a 6-2, 6-4 win in their opening match at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old Sakkari, who is having a breakout year, also ousted Swiatek in straight sets in the French Open quarter-finals and Ostrava semi-finals this year.
Sakkari started the year ranked 21st and although she did not win a title this season, she reached the final in Ostrava and the semifinals at the US Open, Roland Garros and Miami to become the first Greek woman to qualify for the WTA Finals.
Swiatek, who won titles in Adelaide and Rome in 2021, is also making her debut at the season-ending tournament.
Sakkari won 26 of the first 27 points on her first serve and broke her opponent in the third and seventh games of the first set.
She then broke again for a 4-3 lead in the second.
The tournament, which was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, features a round-robin group stage before the semifinals.
The WTA Finals are being played in Guadalajara for this year only, with the event scheduled to return to Shenzhen, China in 2022.
