Tennis star Simona Halep has announced she is withdrawing from the Palermo Ladies Open being hosted in Italy.

Italy has just imposed a quarantine rule for travellers from Romania, where Halep is currently. However, despite the player being told she would be exempt from the rule, she chose to pull out anyway.

She wrote on Twitter: "Given the recent rise in Covid19 cases in Romania and my anxieties around international air travel at this time, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Palermo. 

“I want to thank the tournament director and the Italian ministry of health for all efforts on my behalf”

The tournament director Oliviero Palma had written to the Italian health minister to see if players heading to the event could be exempt from the rule. Italy has also ruled travellers from Bulgaria have to quarantine

The event tweeted their dismay at Halep’s decision: “We found out Halep’s decision with great bitterness. Yesterday we were optimistic, and we had informed Halep’s staff about the fact that professional players are not obliged to quarantine.”

The event is going to be the first WTA tournament since March.

All players involved in the tournament will be tested for coronavirus before they travel. They will then be tested again upon arrival and will not be allowed out of their hotels until they receive their results.

The athletes will then be tested every four days to stop any possible spread of the disease.