Two-time major champion Simona Halep announced her decision to retire from tennis on Tuesday after losing a match at a tournament in her home country of Romania.
It was Halep's first match since October as she's been dealing with knee and shoulder pain that caused her to back out of the Australian Open last month.
"I wanted to come here today in Cluj to play in front of you and say goodbye on the court to tennis," Halep said in Romanian. "Even though my performance wasn’t very good, it was still my soul and I’m very glad that you came. I wonder if I’ll come back again but for now, it’s the last time I’ve played here.
"I don’t want to cry. It’s a beautiful thing. I became world No. 1, I won Grand Slams. It’s all I wanted. Life goes on. There is life after tennis and I hope we will see each other again. Of course, I will continue to play tennis but to be competitive requires much more and at this moment, it is no longer possible."
Halep last competed in a major tournament at the 2022 U.S. Open, where she ended up testing positive for a banned drug that caused her to receive a four-year ban. Her ban was shortened as she argued that she was exposed to a contaminated supplement. She returned to tennis in March 2024, but only competed in five matches last year.
Halep's best years came in 2017 and '18. She reached No. 1 in the world in 2017, then followed it up the next year by winning her first major title at the French Open. She went on to win the 2019 Wimbledon title, too, by beating Serena Williams in the final.
The 33-year-old ends her tennis career with 24 titles.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Two-Time Major Champion Simona Halep Announces Retirement From Tennis.
