Begu happy for Halep: "I hope 2025 will be a good year for her".

The good news is back for Simona Halep. The 33-year-old Romanian will be playing in Auckland, where she has received a wild-card entry.

Then, the former world number 1 will compete in the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open, a Grand Slam where she reached the final in 2018.

Another Romanian player who has been Halep's doubles partner at certain tournaments, Irina-Camelia Begu, had a message for Halep.

She hopes that the next two tournaments Halep takes part in will be the start of a renaissance for her.

"Her suspension was an extremely long period. I'm sorry Simona had to go through the whole process.

But I'm glad she got a wildcard at the Australian Open and in Auckland. I hope 2025 will be a good year for her, that she returns to where we all know she belongs.

The most important thing is for her to gain confidence, both in her game and, above all, physically.

After that, I think she'll gradually go tournament by tournament and see how she feels," Begu told Digi Sport media.