The Romanian champion has announced a break from tennis for physical reasons; will she be able to return as the tennis player we remember before the doping ban?
After having played only the WTA 125 in Paris – following the victory of the appeal regarding the doping ba-issue – Simona Halep has stopped again. The cause is physical reasons, despite no news having circulated about her physical problems. The Romanian tennis player updated her fans via a post on Instagram, in which she explained how she needs more time to be able to return to competition.
“I wanted to provide a little health update since I have been away from the tennis court lately. It is not the best news I can give, but I wanted to share it anyway. For a few months now, I have been struggling with a knee injury. It is an injury I have never had before and it is hard to manage, because the pain is persistent,” she wrote.
The Romanian will try to solve the physical problem by trying not to rush things, trying to take all the time necessary to get back in form.
“It has been a very difficult period (almost two years) mentally and emotionally for me and having to deal with physical problems is difficult. I decided to take the time necessary to recover as best as possible, rather than train and play on the pain. My instinct has always been to try to return as soon as possible, but I am not a machine, I am a human being and I need time to recover from everything I have been through. I will keep you updated and, as always, I want to thank you for your unconditional support. I hope to return to the court very soon,” she added.
In short, there is no comforting news from the former world number 1. The Romanian champion, having won the battle against justice after the disqualification for doping, had returned to Miami, eager to return to competing regularly. But at the moment her physical shape is not adequate to compete with the best tennis players on the WTA Tour.
Will Simona be able to become competitive again and get her career back on track? It will not be an easy task; evidently, if she has made this decision, I believe that her physical condition is really too far away even from those outside the Top-50 of the WTA ranking. I would add that Halep is one of the few tennis players with the right mentality to be able to return to competing at the highest level. Having experienced – first – disappointments and defeats and – then – Slam triumphs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the Romanian is one of the few tennis players with the mental strength to face such a difficult comeback.
After the latest CAS ruling, which reduced her disqualification from 4 years to 9 months, the former world number 1 was able to return to experience the emotions of the court, facing Paula Badosa in the first round of the WTA Masters 1000 in Miami. In an interview with the Associated Press, the Russian champion had talked about her feelings on returning to the field.
“I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how the reception would be, both on and off the court. I didn’t know what to expect from the people in Miami. Being back in the locker room and in the players’ area. All this routine that I hadn’t done for almost two years felt new to me. When I arrived, the love I received from the people who work for the tournament, from security and everyone around me, as well as the players, helped me forget everything. I felt like I had never been away. It was a great feeling, a great energy, and deep down I was very happy to be part of tennis again and this sport that I love so much. For me it was a great experience, much better than I expected.
All this made me feel like I wanted to come back and give my best and see how good I can still be. It was a difficult time. It was difficult to control, but now it’s a whole different story. And I feel relief, I feel freedom. So yes, I’m back to work. I’m 32, I’m not that young anymore. That I went through is not easy. So I can’t forget it. There is a baggage that will probably stay longer, and I can’t forget, like in one night, what happened. So I have to manage it better. I have to control my emotions. So there are many things that are not easy. But joy, hopefully, will help me,” she analyzed
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