Chris Evert delighted by Simona Halep overcoming injury setback with comeback at Hong Kong Open

Chris Evert was delighted as Simona Halep announced that she would make her long-awaited comeback to the WTA tour at the Hong Kong 125 Open. Halep has been away from professional tennis since May 2024 due to a knee injury.

The Romanian, recently, shared with fans that she would return to tennis at the WTA 125 tournament in Hong Kong after being sidelined for five months.

“Hello guys, I figured today was a great day to share the great news that I will be back on the court sooner than expected, I will be flying to Hong Kong tomorrow to compete in the WTA 125 Hong Kong Open, big thanks to the tournament for the wild card and I cannot wait to see you all there.” Simona Halep said in a video message.

Evert was delighted by the news of the former World No. 1's comeback and wrote:

" ❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏so happy to see you back, Simona."

Halep has had a tumultuous year. She made her return to tennis after her drug sentence was reduced at the 2024 Miami Open. The Romanian lost to Paula Badosa in the first round 6-1, 4-6, 3-6. Next, she played at the WTA 125 tournament in Paris, where she was forced to retire mid-match due to a knee injury at 7-5, 2-3. In June, Halep played an exhibition match against Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi in Cluj.

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Simona Halep's knee injury: "It has been a tough one to manage, with the pain persisting"

Simona Halep struggles with a knee injury (Image: Getty)

In July, Simona Halep shared an injury update with her fans, announcing that she had suffered a knee injury. The former World No. 1 said it was a new injury which was tough to manage.

"For a few months now, I have been struggling with a knee injury. It’s an injury I have never had before and it has been a tough one to manage, with the pain persisting," Halep wrote in July.

Talking about the difficult period of the last two years, she said she needed time to recover physically, mentally, and emotionally before returning to tennis.

"It has been a very difficult period (almost two years) mentally and emotionally for me and struggling physically on top of that definitely doesn’t help. I have decided to take the time needed to recover properly, rather than training and playing through pain," she wrote.

Simona Halep will face Arina Rodionova in the first round at the Hong Kong 125 Open.