The new restriction in Italy says, that all people that are coming from Romania or Bulgaria have to stay quarantined for 14 days. This restriction will make it impossible for Simona Halep to compete at the tournament. World no. 2 is the brightest star that should compete at the Palermo Ladies Open and so the tournament director Oliveiro Palma has written a letter to the Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza. In a statement, he said:

"We have written an urgent letter to the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, asking for a derogation from the last provision for tennis players who will participate in the Palermo Ladies Open 2020. The provision would penalise a player like Simona Halep, world’s number 2 and Wimbledon’s reigning champion, who wouldn’t take part in Palermo’s tournament anymore. Regardless of the player’s value and the attention her presence fosters over the first tournament after the suspension for the pandemic, we wrote a letter to the Minister because we’re convinced that the health protocols adopted by the WTA are so strict to guarantee the safety and health not only of athletes, yet also of all the various workers involved in the event.”