Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep announces retirement from tennis – less than a year after the star returned from a drugs ban
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has announced her retirement from tennis, less than a year after embarking on a comeback after her doping suspension expired.
Halep was thrashed 6-1, 6-1 by Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti at the Transylvania Open in Cluj on Tuesday, the Romania’s home event on the WTA Tour.
Prior to the match, Halep had spoken of potentially ending her career amid an ongoing battle with a knee injury.
Halep has been restricted to just six singles matches since returning to the tour last March, winning just one.
The 33-year-old issued a statement on court to the crowd post match and later confirmed her retirement in a press conference.
‘I feel both sadness and joy – both feelings are trying me at the moment,’ Halep said on court.
Simona Halep, 33, has announced her retirement less than a year after returning from a ban
Halep won two-time Grand Slam titles and beat Serena Williams in the 2019 Wimbledon final
The Romanian star had claimed the French Open title in 2018, after twice being a runner-up
‘But I make this decision with a peaceful soul. My body can’t take that much anymore to get to where I was, it’s very difficult for me to get there and I know what effort that entails. That’s exactly why I came here to Cluj to play in front of you and to get feedback from you.
‘Even though my performance wasn’t the best, I’m very glad you came. I don’t want to cry, I became world number 1, I won Grand Slams, everything I wanted. Life goes on after tennis and I hope to see you as often as possible.
‘I will still come to tennis, but to be competitive means much more and, at this moment, it’s no longer possible.’
The former Wimbledon and French Open champion was cleared to return last March after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping ban from four years to nine months.
Halep, 33, had tested positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022.
An independent tribunal imposed a four-year ban having not accepted Halep’s explanation that a contaminated supplement was the source of the Roxadustat in her system, while a charge of irregularities in her athlete biological passport was also upheld.
The sanction was reduced following an appeal to CAS.
Halep confirmed her retirement following her first singles match of 2025, having already been forced to withdraw from the Australian Open and warm-up events for the first Grand Slam of the year due to injury issues.
Halep admitted she had been struggling with injuries, leading to her decision to retire
She confirmed her retirement at the Transylvania Open, her home tournament on the WTA tour
Halep had been thrashed 6-1, 6-1 by Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, left, in the first round on Tuesday
‘This is my home, in Romania, this is where I feel best, I have always felt surrounded by a lot of love,’ Halep added.
‘There have been many matches that I have won here, there have also been matches that I have lost, but the good, beautiful memories always remain, and your energy has filled my soul.
‘No matter where I have played, this is where I have felt best. It felt like I was barely breathing on the field today. It is a special emotion.’
‘I have many friends who came to see me today. My team, people in tennis who supported me, helped me get where I am. From a sporting point of view, I am a very fulfilled person, I never even dreamed when I was a child that I would achieve what I have achieved. I worked very hard for this.
‘My family is also here, who always helped me. My parents have been by my side from the first moment, without them I would not have been able to be who I am today. I thank them and love them very much, because they have been by my side in every decision I have made.
‘I want to wish the children a lot of ambition, a lot of desire to reach the top, because it’s wonderful there. I played for many years, it’s tiring, it’s exhausting, but it’s beautiful, and the adrenaline of those moments is not found anywhere else. So, dear children, fight, work, because everything is worth it, in the end.’
The Transylvania Open shared a message stating ‘Thanks for everything, Simona’ following Halep’s announcement.
Halep, who became world number one in 2017, had been given a wild card entry into the tournament having been ranked 870th in the world.
Halep returned to the sport last March after the CAS reduced her doping ban from four years to nine months
The former world number one made over $40million in her career earnings, the third most by a female player behind Serena and Venus Williams
She claimed her first Grand Slam title the following year, beating France’s Sloane Stephens in three sets to win the French Open.
Halep was crowned Wimbledon champion the following year after a straight sets victory over Serena Williams.
She was a beaten finalist in three further Grand Slam finals, losing in the French Open showpiece in 2014 and 2017, as well as the Australian Open in 2018.
Halep has made a reported $40million (£32million) in career earnings having won 24 titles, placing her third all-time on the women’s list behind Serena and Venus Williams.
