Simona Halep withdraws from Palermo Ladies Open, leaves organisers 'profoundly disappointed'

World number two Simona Halep of Romania has pulled out of the Palermo Ladies Open, which is slated to take place in Italy from August 3 to August 9.

The 28-year-old's decision to withdraw from the next month's tournament came after Italy imposed a mandatory quarantine for people coming from Romania and Bulgaria in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The tournament organisers took to their official Twitter handle to confirm the news, saying that they are left embittered and profoundly disappointed with Halep's decision despite informing that professional players are not obliged to quarantine.

"Regional assessor of Health Ruggero Razza,  had directly sent to Halep an official communication explaining how the Ordinance of the Ministry of Health was not to be applied to workers, therefore neither to professional tennis players,"Palermo CEO tweeted.

"Nevertheless, Halep’s staff only communicated us the final decision, frustrating all our efforts. We are embittered and profoundly disappointed. We found out Halep’s decision with great bitterness. Yesterday we were optimistic, and we had informed Halep’s staff about the fact that professional players are not obliged to quarantine," he added.

The Palermo Ladies Open will be the first professional tennis event across the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and Association Tennis Professional (ATP)  after a break of more than five months due to coronavirus pandemic.