One of the top stories in the tennis world this month has been the announcement of two retirements. The first was Simona Halep of Bucharest, Romania on February 4, and the second was Diego Schwartzman of Buenos Aires, Argentina on Thursday. Here is the reaction from X.
Our 2019 singles champion @Simona_Halep has brought an end to her professional tennis career – we wish her all the best in retirement 🇷🇴🏆 pic.twitter.com/qmYlJotUZb
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) February 4, 2025
At the 2019 Wimbledon tournament, Halep steamrolled past American Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the final. What was so remarkable about Halep’s 2019 Wimbledon tournament was the fact she won 52% of return games in her seven matches. In addition to beating Williams, Halep beat two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-1 in the third round, 2023 United States Open champion Coco Gauff of the United States 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth round, and three-time grand slam semifinalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals.
What a match. What a player.
In one of the longest battles in Australian Open history, @Simona_Halep faced multiple match points before fighting back to win an absolute EPIC against Lauren Davis in 2018. pic.twitter.com/OHh074CH0e
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 6, 2025
Known for her endurance, Halep beat Lauren Davis of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 in the third round of the 2018 Australian Open. The match took three hours and 44 minutes and Halep saved three match points.
Anastasia Potapova said some beautiful words about Simona Halep’s retirement after winning Cluj:
“The last thing I want to say, Simona is the one I’ve always looked up to. She’s been one of my idols all the time. At the start of the week I wished her to come back to where she… pic.twitter.com/hV59r76I3q
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 9, 2025
Potapova of Russia defeated Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in the final, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. This was Potapova’s third career title after winning the 2022 Istanbul Cup and the 2023 Linz Open.
Before Diego Schwartzman played the final point of his career, the crowd in Buenos Aires was chanting his name.
Diego wiped the tears away from his face.
Beautiful support for a one-of-a-kind person & player.
There will never be another Diego. 🥹
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 13, 2025
This is a prime example of Schwartzman’s popularity in Argentina. Of his four career titles, he won the 2021 Argentina Open, where he beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 6-2 in an all-Argentinian final.
In a world where not trying somehow became cool, I’m glad we’re celebrating the career of Diego Schwartzman, someone who tried hard, achieved success beyond his wildest dreams, and blamed no one but himself for his shortcomings.
His legacy is 10x that of more ‘talented’ players. pic.twitter.com/cqTwaWi092
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) February 13, 2025
There is no doubt Schwartzman’s legacy will be his work ethic. Each and every match you could see the effort was there.
When Diego Schwartzman (5’7″) and John Isner (6’10”) played doubles together in Rome 2022!
Bucket list item checked off for both of them 🤓 pic.twitter.com/3jYSmMFiVX
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) February 13, 2025
In one of the craziest doubles partnerships in tennis history, Schwartzman and Isner reached the men’s doubles final of the Italian Open, before losing to Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-7, [12-10].
