Halep: “Tennis never did anything bad to me, it only gave me good things”

Despite having been one of the great dominators of her decade, the farewell of Simona Halep could not have been sadder. Despite not having the farewell she deserved, the Romanian confesses to being at peace with what she has experienced and has turned the page.

How little is said about how the system destroyed the career of Simona Halep. Even though it was later proven that she was innocent, the damage had already been done, a lethal blow that pushed her out of the circuit at an age where she had no margin to return. In an interview with The National, the Romanian delves into her darkest moments, including that last match in Cluj-Napoca where even she did not know it would end up being the last of her career. She realized this while on the court, becoming aware that nothing would ever be the same.

“I thought for a long time about when to make the decision, when to play my last match, but certainly, I didn’t decide it when I walked onto the court to face Lucia that day,” remembers the Romanian about that match in February against Bronzetti, the match that would ultimately end up being the last.

“I simply felt that my place was no longer there. I felt very far away physically, I had knee pain and I could still feel it. After losing the first set, I made a decision and said, ‘After this I’m going to stop.’ Then I went to my parents and told them I wanted to stop. They saw it as a good thing, that’s the story, but the reality is that no one knew,” Simona acknowledges how she came to the final decision.

And what if she was rushing it? Could she regret it weeks later? “I never questioned my decision, never,” asserts the winner of 24 individual titles. “Probably, that means that, within me, that was the right decision. Some time later, now thinking about it, I know I did what I felt, undoubtedly it was the best,” she proudly emphasizes.

“Tennis never did anything bad to me, absolutely nothing wrong. It only gave me good things and moments. What happened, happened, and it was only for me, without making any mistakes. Luckily, everything was later proven. Tennis has nothing to do with that, so I still maintain a passion for it,” she admits in clear reference to the doping sanction she received, later proven to be innocent.

Halep admits she has no regrets in her career

Now at 34 years old, Halep only speaks the language of truth, holding nothing back and being completely honest with her thoughts. “Honestly, I do miss tennis a little bit, I got goosebumps when I entered the central court of these last WTA Finals, remembering everything that was at stake there,” she replies when touched with the most anticipated question. “Although, well, I admit that everything is better without that match stress. I no longer suffer from that stomach ache before matches, it was killing me. Being so emotional affected me a lot on the court, but it was part of me and had to be accepted,” values the champion of a Roland Garros and a Wimbledon.

“I have no regrets, not for every mistake I made, I accept it all. I am proud of all the good things I did, but especially of how I handled all the failures and successes. When you grow up in a small country and achieve a lot of success, at first you don’t know how to handle it. Today I see that I handled it very well, I didn’t change much, so I am very proud. Now I realize that I dedicated my whole life to this, so I have no regrets,” concludes the one from Constanta.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Halep: “El tenis nunca me hizo nada malo, solo me dio cosas buenas”