World number three Simona Halep withdrew from the WTA and ATP Miami Open on Saturday because of a right shoulder injury, sending Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova into the round of 16.
The 29-year-old Romanian isn’t set to play again until next month’s Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Fed Cup.
“I’m very sorry I have to pull out of singles and doubles at the Miami Open, but my injury doesn’t let me play here as expected,” Halep said in a statement.
“I’m sad that I can’t continue. I wanted to come here to give my best and play many matches but unfortunately, I can’t. Hopefully next year I will be back healthy and better.”
Halep, the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion, was the third seed behind world number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia and Japan’s second-ranked Naomi Osaka, who won last month’s Australian Open title for her fourth Grand Slam crown.
Halep rallied to defeat France’s 51st-ranked Caroline Garcia 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in her opening Miami match to reach the third round.
Sevastova received a walkover into the fourth round, where she will face either 15th-seeded Polish teen Iga Swiatek, the reigning French Open champion, or 338th-ranked Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
