Although Simona Halep was the favorite to lift the trophy at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, she did so under very different circumstances as Karolina Pliskova retired midway through the match.

The final saw the two top seeds clash for the 13th time on the WTA Tour, with Halep holding a 7-5 lead. However, after an abysmal first set that saw Halep record a bagel, Pliskova was unable to continue as she retired at the start of the second set.

The Czech superstar later revealed on her official Instagram account that she had suffered an undisclosed injury. This forced her to retire from the match, in an effort to avoid any future complications.

"I wanted to try, I wanted to fight, but, unfortunately, wasn’t able to continue and be competitive," Pliskova stated. "I was forced to retire from the match due to injury for the first time in my professional career and it’s hard to deal with it"

The World No.4 now has a week to recuperate and prepare for Roland Garros, which commences on September 27 2020.

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