Simona Halep says that she has \u2018no regrets\u2019 over her retirement from professional tennis, but admits that she \u2018misses\u2019 the sport.<\/p>\n
The Romanian announced her retirement in February 2025 after failing to stay healthy and gain consistency on the tour.<\/p>\n
Halep\u2019s final match came via a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Lucia Bronzetti at the Transylvania Open, coming weeks after withdrawing from the Australian Open due to a knee injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought about it for a while, but it was not decided when I entered the court that in that match I would retire. But I felt like my place is not there anymore,\u201d said Halep to The National<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt physically, I was injured with my knee and I was in pain. So after I lost the first set, I made up my mind and I said, \u2018I\u2019m going to stop after this\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then I went to my parents and I told them that I want to stop. And they said, \u2018OK, announce it\u2019. So the story was like this. Nobody knew.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, never. probably that means that, inside myself, it was the right decision. And now I feel it. I think it was the best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Halep enjoyed a stellar career, winning the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, as well as finishing as the year-end No 1 on two occasions (2017 and 2018).<\/p>\n Overall, the Romanian held the top spot for 64 weeks and remained in the world\u2019s top 10 for eight years \u2013 one of the longest such streaks in WTA history.<\/p>\n The two-time Grand Slam champion also won titles at the Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome events.<\/p>\n However, in August 2022, she tested positive for the presence of roxadustat, a banned substance.<\/p>\n The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) also noted \u2018irregularities\u2019 \u00a0in her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), which inferred some level of blood manipulation over an extended period.<\/p>\n In September 2023, she was handed a four-year ban, with Halep appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).<\/p>\n The court partially upheld the appeal after finding that the substance likely entered her system via the consumption of a contaminated substance, supporting the former world No 1\u2019s original explanation.<\/p>\n As a result, the four-year ban was reduced to nine months, making her immediately eligible to return to professional tennis. Battle of the Sexes: Who said what? The controversial takes on the \u2018show\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n
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