Tennis
Simona Halep Announces Her Retirement From Professional Tennis

Former World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep announced her retirement from professional tennis after losing her first-round singles match at the Transylvania Open. The 33-year-old Romanian admitted she felt sad and happy about her decision.
Halep said life goes on beyond tennis but vowed to stay close to the game, continuing to play for fun. The announcement came as somewhat of a surprise though Halep recently confessed that she was thinking more about retirement. She was dealing with a cartilage tear in her knee and openly wondered how she would be physically during the grind of a tennis match.
Simona Halep’s retirement speech, translated by the amazing @WTARomania account. pic.twitter.com/9EHrqDKG84
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) February 4, 2025
Simona Halep’s Legacy
Simona Halep is the most successful Romanian tennis player in recent years, posting a 580-241 career win-loss record. She defeated Sloane Stephens to win the 2018 French Open and Serena Williams to win the 2019 Wimbledon. The straight-set upset of the favorite Serena Williams was one of the best matches of her career.
Simona Halep has had an amazing career, she played hard but always with a smile. Her best surface was clay but her most memorable win for me was the Wimbledon 2019 final. @Simona_Halep was a big underdog against Serena, but played the match of her life! ❤️pic.twitter.com/cEQmvFtvGB
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) February 4, 2025
She has not played much tennis since 2022 after failing a doping test. Her case was one of accidental contamination, but the ruling and appeal of it lagged on for nearly two years causing her to lose precious playing time in her early 30s.
Halep has been vocal about how quickly Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner’s cases have been resolved compared to hers.
What’s Next For Simona Halep?
Coaching or broadcasting could be in her future. Halep worked with great coaches in her career. She recently called her former coach and Jannik Sinner’s current coach, Darren Cahill, the best coach in the game right now. Ironically, Cahill is planning to retire from coaching at the end of 2025.
30-Something Grand Slam Champions On WTA Tour Are Becoming Fewer
With Halep’s retirement, three over-30 Grand Slam champions remain active on the WTA Tour. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, is 31. Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is 35. 34-year-old new mom and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova recently announced she is returning to the WTA Tour this spring.