The legendary Kim Clijsters made a series of statements after Simona Halep announced her definitive retirement from tennis.
The former great Belgian player says she feels that Simona Halep is frustrated with how she ended her career, but wanted to highlight all the good things our athlete has done in tennis.
"In a way, I feel sorry for her. The last few years have not been easy for her. She couldn't make a lasting comeback and stay in shape after such a long absence from the circuit. I feel sorry for her. She had a fantastic career. To see her performing at such a high level after losing the first three Grand Slam finals, maybe losing a bit of confidence in her ability to win those tournaments, and then eventually succeeding at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, was something incredible.
She's a hard worker, humble. At the moment, she's probably frustrated with what has recently happened, but I hope that in a few months she will be able to look back at the good results she had in her career. She achieved great things, was coached by Darren Cahill. She needs to focus again on the positive things that happened to her. She was one of the fiercest competitors on the WTA circuit. It's sad that she decided to stop in a different way than she would have wanted, probably," said Kim Clijsters on Served with Andy Roddick.
Recall that Simona Halep announced her definitive retirement from tennis after being eliminated from the Transylvania Open.
Simona Halep had an impressive career in tennis. She won two Grand Slam titles, Roland Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019, played three other finals (two at Roland Garros and one at the Australian Open). Our athlete was the world number one in the WTA rankings for 64 weeks.
In 2022, Simona Halep tested positive for Roxadustat, after a match played in the first round at the US Open with Daria Snigur on August 29. Since then, a dark period began for Simona. Initially, ITIA imposed a four-year suspension on the Romanian, reduced to just nine months by TAS.
Halep returned to tennis in March 2024, after a year and a half on the sidelines, provisionally suspended, awaiting the ITIA verdict. Since then, Simona Halep has played six matches and won only one, against Arina Rodionova in Hong Kong in October 2024.