Romania’s Simona Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former WTA World No.1, announced her retirement from professional tennis on Tuesday night after bowing out of the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca.
Competing on home soil as a wild card, the 33-year-old was defeated by Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the first round 6-1, 6-1.
“I want to wish the children out there lots of ambition and desire to reach the top, because it’s wonderful up there,” Halep said afterward, addressing fans in the arena. “I’ve played for many years — it’s exhausting, it’s draining, but it’s also beautiful, and the adrenaline from those moments can’t be found anywhere else. So, dear kids, fight, work hard, because in the end, it’s all worth it. As an athlete, I feel very fulfilled.”
After winning the Roland Garros girls’ title in 2008, Halep, who was born in the Black Sea city of Constanta, became junior World No.1 — by which point she was already winning titles on the ITF Circuit.
She made her WTA qualifying debut at Paris [Indoors] in 2009 and her WTA main-draw debut at Marbella in 2010, weeks before contesting her first Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros as a qualifier. That year she also made the final of the third WTA main draw she ever played, on the clay of Fès, Morocco, and finished the season inside the Top 100 for the first time.
Steady progress in 2011-12 was followed by a breakthrough 2013 season that saw the Romanian become the first player to win her first six WTA titles in the same year since Stefanie Graf in 1986: Nürnberg, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Budapest, New Haven, Moscow and the Tournament of Champions in Sofia. She finished the season at No. 11 and was duly voted WTA Most Improved Player of the Year.
From that point, consistency became a hallmark of Halep’s career. Among eight Top 10 seasons overall, she ranked inside the Top 4 seven seasons running (2014-20) and was twice the year-end No.1 (2017-18). Between January 2014 and August 2021 she remained inside the Top 10 for 395 consecutive weeks, the eighth-longest streak in WTA history.
All up, Halep contested 42 tour-level singles finals (24-18) and won nine WTA 1000 events: 2014 Doha, 2015 Dubai, 2015 Indian Wells, 2016 Madrid, 2016 Montréal, 2017 Madrid, 2018 Montréal, 2020 Rome and 2022 Toronto — the last title run of her career.
Portia Archer, CEO of the WTA commented: “Simona’s talent and dedication to our sport has left its mark, solidifying her status as one of the greatest tennis players of her generation. Alongside her remarkable on-court performances and achievements, Simona forged a special connection with sports fans across Romania and around the world. She will be greatly missed. On behalf of the WTA family, I wish Simona much happiness and continued success in the future.”
Named WTA Singles Player of the Year and ITF World Champion in 2018, Halep also received the WTA’s Jerry Diamond ACES Award in 2016 for her efforts to promote the game and was voted Fan Favorite Singles Player three years running, 2017-19. She represented Romania at the London 2012 Olympics and was a stalwart for her country in Billie Jean King Cup play.
Halep leaves the game with a win-loss record of 580-243 (.705), including 44 wins over Top 10 opponents, and prize money exceeding $40 million — sitting third on the all-time list of WTA earners, behind Serena and Venus Williams.