Romania's Halep enters US Open

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number two, has entered this year's edition of the US Open tournament, which will take place in New York, August 31 - September 13, according to organisers.

The presence of the Romanian champion at Flushing Meadows is still in question, after she withdrew from the ongoing Palermo Ladies Open, the first since the resumption of the competition after a hiatus imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Halep played her last official match on February 22, when she defeated Kazakh Elena Ribakina in three sets, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7/5) in the final of the Dubai tournament.

She leads the field at the US Open, as announced by the American Tennis Federation (USTA), the organiser of the competition, along with 12 other Grand Slam singles champions.

Nine of the top 10 ranked in the current WTA hierarchy headline the initial women's singles entry list for the 2020 US Open: No. 2 Simona Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion; No. 3 Karolina Pliskova; No. 4 Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion; No. 5 Elina Svitolina; No. 6 Bianca Andreescu, the defending US Open women's singles champion; No. 7 Kiki Bertens; No. 8 Belinda Bencic; No. 9 Serena Williams, a six-time US Open and 23-time Grand Slam champion; and No. 10 Naomi Osaka, the 2018 US Open and two-time Grand Slam champion.

Eight additional Grand Slam champions are entered into the field, including: No. 12 Petra Kvitova, a two-time Grand Slam champion; No. 16 Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion; No. 21 Angelique Kerber, the 2016 US Open and two-time Grand Slam champion; No. 32 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open and two-time Grand Slam champion; No. 37 Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion; No. 41 Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion; No. 58 Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion; and No. 67 Venus Williams, a two-time US Open and seven-time Grand Slam champion.

World number one Ashleigh Barty will be missing from the New York tournament this year, citing significant COVID-19 risks Involved by travelling to the United States, where the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc.