Simona Halep will delay her start to the 2025 season and skip the Australian Open due to pain in her knee and shoulder, the former world No. 1 said Thursday.
Halep, whose career stalled due to a doping ban that was reduced on appeal this year, had received a wild card for the Australian Open qualifying tournament last week. She finished runner-up at the Melbourne major in 2018.
The 33-year-old had also been scheduled to play at a tuneup tournament in Auckland. Halep last played at the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week.
"After playing in Abu Dhabi, unfortunately I felt pain in my knee and shoulder once again. After discussing with my team at length, we agreed it is sensible to delay the start of my season," Halep wrote in an Instagram story. "It's not what I wanted but I would like to thank the tournament organisers in Auckland and Australia for the wild cards and I'm sorry I won't be able to take them this time."
The Romanian said she intends to return at her home event at the Transylvania Open in Cluj in early February.
Halep was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after she tested positive for roxadustat -- a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells -- at the US Open that year.
She was later banned for four years, a period that was cut to nine months in March following an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 2019 Wimbledon champion has denied knowingly taking roxadustat, blaming contaminated supplements for her positive test.
Halep has been ranked as high as No. 1 but is currently 877th and hasn't played at any Grand Slam tournament since 2022 after missing all tournaments for 1½ years because of the doping case.
Australian Open qualifying starts Jan. 6, and the main draw begins Jan. 12.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
