"It took a lot of mental strength, because what happened to her is very sad," Halep defended by former Romanian player

After a remarkable career that saw her win 24 singles titles, including two Grand Slam victories at Roland Garros (2018) and Wimbledon (2019), Simona Halep chose to retire early this season following her first-round loss at the WTA 250 tournament in Cluj-Napoca against Lucia Bronzetti (6-1, 6-1).

Her career took an unexpected turn in 2022 when she tested positive for roxadustat during the US Open. Suspended for four years (later reduced to eighteen months), the Romanian made her comeback in Miami in 2024, but recurring knee and shoulder injuries prevented her from gaining momentum.

Former Romanian professional tennis player Andrei Pavel, once ranked world No. 13, gave an interview to local media Golazo and spoke about the recent months of his compatriot, now 33, who didn’t get the career ending she had hoped for.

"Simona (Halep) is a bit tired right now. She just wants to enjoy life after tennis. She seems happy to me, she plays golf... She loves doing things that, as a professional athlete, she usually didn’t have time for.

She’s a bit worn out because she went through a very tough period, those two years marked by the doping scandal. And I think what happened to her was very unfair. It took a lot of mental strength, because what happened is very sad," lamented the 51-year-old Pavel recently.

Halep made one of her first public appearances since announcing her retirement at Wimbledon, where she attended the women’s final between Swiatek and Anisimova in the 'Royal Box.'