Simona Halep withdraws from the Miami Open due to leg injury

It will be a huge blow to the 30-year-old Romanian, who is currently in a good run of form.

She reached the last-16 of the Australian Open in January as well as the semi-finals of Indian Wells last week.

She was defeated by eventual champion Iga Swiatek in California, in what was her first WTA 1000 semi-final since she won the Italian Open in September 2020.

She had been given a bye in the first round in Miami and was due to play Australian wild card Daria Saville.

Writing on Twitter, Halep confirmed she will be out for three weeks, saying, "I had been struggling with the thigh since my semi-final in Indian Wells and hoped it would improve, but I went for an MRI last night and unfortunately it showed a tear.

"My body needs time to heal and as a result I will be out of competition for three weeks.

"This means I have had to make the super tough decision to pull out of Miami, Charleston and Fed Cup."

Despite the setback, the two-time Grand Slam champion is expecting to be ready for the clay court season.

She continued, "While it feels like really disappointing news to share, I am keeping the confidence from my great start to the year and am motivated to do everything to be ready for the clay-court season."