Boycott? Simona Halep will dispense with the Fed Cup in 2020
The Fed Cup will be held in a new format for the first time in 2020. With Simona Halep, the first top player for the traditional team competition has now canceled.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Dec 27, 2019, 09:04 pm
As Halep announced on Friday, she wanted to devote herself entirely to participating in the Olympic Games instead.
"My priority is the Olympics, where I will play singles, doubles and mixed. I will do everything I can to win a medal for my country," she said at a Romanian tennis association gala on Friday.
Romania will face Russia in the qualifying round in February. The winners of the match are allowed to travel to the Fed Cup finals, which will be held in Budapest in a new format in April.
Hosts Hungary and this year's finalists France and Australia are already as sure as Czech Republic, which receives a wildcard. Eight additional tickets will be awarded in the qualification round.
As usual, four singles and one double will be played in the qualification round, all matches in best-of-three mode. However, the match days now all take place on Friday and Saturday, no longer on Saturday and Sunday as before.
Halep made her Fed Cup debut in 2010 and has an overall record of 22-10. In 2019, the Romanians reached the semi-finals, where they were eliminated in a decisive double against France.