Source Credit: Ashraq Al-Awsat
The 33-year-old former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep announced her retirement from professional tennis, following her defeat by Italy's Lucia Bronzetti in the opening round of the Transylvania Open în Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Her "mind and body can no longer handle that level of effort" needed to compete at the top, Halep, who was the WTA world number one for 64 weeks, said she was happy with her decision. She said, "I am realistic, and it is time to close this chapter" .
Halep has won 24 titles in her career, with her Grand Slam triumphs at Wimbledon in 2019 and the French Open in 2018 serving as highlights. Additionally, she has received more than $40 million in prize money.
Simona Halep returned to tennis in March last year after her career was put on hold on October 7, 2022, following a positive test for roxadustat at the US Open.
The 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion later faced a second controversy over "irregularities" in her biological passport data. Initially handed a four-year ban by the ITIA, she successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS, arguing that her positive test for roxadustat, a banned blood-doping agent used to treat anemia, was due to a tainted supplement. Her ban was ultimately reduced to nine months.
Despite her return, Halep struggled to regain the form that once made her world No. 1 in October 2017, a position she held for 64 weeks. Over her 19-year career, she won 24 WTA titles, including the French Open (2018) and Wimbledon (2019), and reached three other Grand Slam finals: the French Open (2014, 2017) and the Australian Open (2018).
