Simona Halep has announced her retirement from tennis, 11 months after returning to the sport following a drug ban.
Halep was once the number one female player in the world, and is a two-time Grand Slam singles winner after victories at the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following year. However, she was slapped with a four-year ban after testing positive for banned substance Roxadustat after the 2022 US Open.
The 33-year-old had her ban reduced on appeal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that – “on the balance of probabilities” – she had not taken the banned substance intentionally. This allowed her to return to action in March 2024, but the comeback has lasted less than a year.
Halep played her farewell tournament in her home country of Romania, losing to Lucia Bronzetti at the first round of the Transylvania Open. After the defeat, Halep – who entered the tournament via a wildcard – confirmed the match was her last as a pro.
“Tonight, I don’t know if it’s with joy or sadness, I think both feelings are trying me but I’m making this decision with my soul,” she told the crowd after her 1-6, 1-6 defeat. “I’ve always been realistic with myself and with my body.
“Where I probably was, it’s very hard to get there and I know what it means to get there. That’s why I wanted to come here today in Cluj to play in front of you and say goodbye.
“Even though my performance wasn’t very good it was still my soul and I’m very glad you came, and I’ll wonder if I’ll come back again. But for now it’s the last time I’ll play here and I don’t want to cry. It’s a beautiful thing.”
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Halep appeared to not completely close the door on an eventual return. However, for the time being at least, her top level tennis career is over.
“I became world No. 1. I won Grand Slams, it’s all I ever wanted,” she continued. “Life goes on, there is life after tennis and I hope that we will see each other again. I’ll come to the tennis here as often as I can and of course I will continue to play – but to be competitive it requires much more and at this moment [my career] is no longer.”
Halep didn’t play in a Grand Slam after returning from her suspension, though she was handed a wildcard for the 2025 Australian Open before injury put paid to her hopes of competing. She bows out with two Grand Slam wins and three further finals to her name, with her final tournament victory of any kind coming in the 2022 Canadian Open.
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