Former World Number One Simona Halep Retires from Tennis

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Two-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, Simona Halep, has announced her retirement from tennis.

The 33-year-old confirmed the decision on court after losing 6-1 6-1 in the first round to Lucia Bronzetti at the Transylvania Open in her native Romania.

“I’m making this decision with my soul,” an emotional Halep said in a statement to the crowd. “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.”

Halep continued, “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.”

The former world number one, who delayed the start of her season due to pain in her knee and shoulder, was featuring in what was her fifth tournament since returning to the WTA Tour following a doping ban.

She was initially handed a four-year ban for two separate doping offences after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat in August 2022, but a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) saw her suspension reduced to nine months in 2024.

Halep’s memorable career saw her win the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, having lost her first three major finals. She was the year-end world number one on two occasions (2017 and 2018), spending a total of 64 weeks at the summit of the WTA Rankings and winning 24 WTA titles.

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