Two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep announced her retirement from tennis at age 33 after a first-round loss at a tournament in her home country of Romania, ending an injury-filled comeback from a doping suspension.
Halep used a microphone to address the crowd in Cluj-napoca, Romania, following her 6-1, 6-1 loss to Lucia Bronzetti in the Transylvania Open.
"I wanted to come here today in Cluj to play in front of you and say goodbye on the court to tennis," she said in Romanian.
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"Even though my performance wasn't very good, it was still my soul and I'm very glad that you came. I wonder if I'll come back again but for now, it's the last time I've played here.
"I don't want to cry. It's a beautiful thing. I became world No.1, I won grand slams. It's all I wanted. Life goes on.
Simnona Halep announces her retirement. Getty
"There is life after tennis and I hope we will see each other again. Of course, I will continue to play tennis but to be competitive requires much more and at this moment, it is no longer possible."
That was the first match of the year for Halep, who reached No.1 in the WTA rankings for the first time in 2017 but is now 870th and was given a wild-card invitation to play in Romania.
She had pulled out of qualifying for the Australian Open and a tune-up tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, last month because of pain in her knee and shoulder, the latest interruption of her career.
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Halep once stood atop women's tennis, winning major singles trophies at Wimbledon in 2019 by beating Serena Williams in the final and at the French Open in 2018 by beating Sloane Stephens in the final.
She also was a three-time runner-up at grand slam tournaments — at the Australian Open in 2018 and the French Open in 2014 and 2017.
But her last appearance at a major event came at the 2022 US Open. That was where Halep lost in the first round to Daria Snigur of Ukraine 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 and tested positive for the banned drug Roxadustat.
Roxadustat was approved for use in the European Union in 2021 to treat the symptoms of anemia caused by chronic kidney failure. It stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, which has long been a doping product favoured by cyclists and distance runners to boost stamina.
Simona Halep of Romania and Serena Williams of USA pose with there trophies after the Women's Singles Final at The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club at Wimbledon on July 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images) Getty
Halep initially was given a four-year ban that would have expired in 2026. But she appealed, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the penalty to nine months in March 2024.
She argued that she was exposed to a contaminated supplement that caused her failed test.
CAS determined that Halep bore “some level of fault or negligence” for not exercising “sufficient care” while using the supplement, but “she bore no significant fault or negligence.” So that is why, CAS said, “her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional.”
Halep made her return to the tour later that month at the Miami Open but has played a total of only six matches since then.
She leaves the sport with 24 singles titles and more than $AUD63 million in prize money.
