The former world No. 1 Simona Halep has announced her retirement from professional tennis. The news came in soon after her straight sets(6-1,6-1) defeat from Lucia Bronzetti in the round of 32 of the Winners Open. The 72nd-seeded Bronzetti already had three match points in hand and she converted her match point when Halep missed a forehand return, ultimately taking the game away from her hands. She was seen hugging Romanian player Sorana Cirstea after the match as she bid her final goodbyes to the sport.
The 33-year-old Halep struggled to make a comeback after a 19-month-long absence after multiple anti-doping violations. Halep resumed her career last March 2024 after CAS reduced her ban to nine months from four years. She also has disclosed injury problems as she was dealing with a cartilage tear in the knee, even though she was pain-free at the moment. After serving the nine-month sentence she also played in the Miami Open as a wild card but lost to the Australian Open semifinalist Paula Badosa.
Woah, Simona Halep just announced her *retirement* after losing 6-1 6-1 to Bronzetti at the Transylvania Open pic.twitter.com/DHipSmGzVi
— Olly Tennis (@Olly_Tennis_) February 4, 2025
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