Tennis Tennis Simona Halep withdraws from Qatar Open Not specifying any reason for the sudden withdrawal, Halep said she is looking forward to being back in Doha next year. Reuters 23 February, 2021 18:34 IST Romania's Simona Halep looks dejected after her quarter final match against Serena Williams of the U.S. - REUTERS Reuters 23 February, 2021 18:34 IST World number three Simona Halep has withdrawn from next week's Qatar Open in Doha, the organisers of the WTA 500 tournament announced on Tuesday.Halep, who lost in straight sets to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals last week, did not specify why she was pulling out of the hardcourt tournament to be held from March 1-6."Unfortunately I have made the decision to withdraw from the Qatar Total Open," Halep said in a statement released by the tournament organisers. ATP, WTA rankings: Osaka back to no.2, Medvedev no.3, Karatsev jumps 72 spots in rankings "It's always one of my favourite stops on the tour and I really look forward to being back in Doha next year."World number one Ash Barty and American Sofia Kenin are expected to compete in the tournament along with the likes of Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Aryna Sabalenka. Read more stories on Tennis. For more updates, follow Sportstar on :