China Open: Simona Halep retires hurt in 1st round

World number one Simona Halep's campaign at the ongoing China Open ended as she had to retire owing to a back injury during her first round match against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia on Sunday.

The 27-year-old could only manage to play one set before deciding to quit the match.

Reflecting on the injury, Halep said that she is not sure yet about the nature of the injury, but the pain got worse, which forced her to pull out of the match.

"The pain was getting worse and I was not able to play which is why I stopped. There is a pain. I couldn't move properly, so that's why I stopped. I don't know exactly what it is. I will go home. I will have an MRI and I will see," WTA quoted Halep, as saying.

"I'm just worried now. I feel sad that I couldn't finish. That's why I stopped because I felt like it's getting worse if I continue. It's really tough when you have a back injury because you cannot bend, you cannot react at the balls. I couldn't play," she added.

Last week, Halep had complained of a back injury during the Wuhan Open, where she had suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, without completing the match.