Simona Halep announces retirement after first-round defeat at Transylvania Open - 'Life goes on after tennis'
Published 05/02/2025 at 16:58 GMT
Simona Halep, twice a Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1, suggested at the Transylvania Open that she is retiring from tennis after defeat to Lucia Bronzetti, and later confirmed the decision. The 33-year-old won major titles at the French Open in 2018 and then at Wimbledon in 2019. This week's event was just her fifth tournament since returning to the WTA Tour following a doping ban.
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Video credit: SNTV
Two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No.1 Simona Halep has retired from tennis.
The Romanian spoke to fans on the court on Tuesday, following her 6-1 6-1 first-round loss to Lucia Bronzetti at the Transylvania Open.
The 33-year-old, while clearly full of emotion, suggested that it could be the last time we see her in action.
"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 said.
"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’ve played here and I don’t want to cry.
"It's a beautiful thing. I became world number one, I won Grand Slams, it's all I wanted.
"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 it is no longer."
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On Wednesday, she left little doubt about her decision, posting on social media: "Thank you for everything. I leave full of gratitude"
Halep won the French Open title in 2018 and followed that up in 2019 by winning Wimbledon. She won 24 titles in all, in a professional career that started in 2006.
This week's event was just her fifth tournament since returning to the WTA Tour following a doping ban.
Halep was given a four-year ban for two breaches of anti-doping rules by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
After consistently maintaining she was innocent, Halep appealed against the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2024 and the suspension was ultimately reduced to nine months.
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