"I was super close to stopping" - Halep explains doubts over tennis

Simona Halep was close to stopping tennis after having some doubts over her tennis and body but a newfound motivation combined with a new coach sparked a new love for tennis.

Simona Halep doesn't like early morning training sessions. But the former No.1 found herself happily hitting the Mouratoglou Academy courts at dawn as she readied her return to her beloved clay:

"I've been in the academy and I saw all the kids there training and having the desire to become champions. They were working hard at 8:00 am, they were on the court. I told Patrick, that's pretty tough. And actually I did two weeks training at 8:30 a.m, which I never did in my life. But I did it with pleasure and I did it easy. So that made me think that I still love it and I still can do it. So if I'm healthy, I think I can have a good game."

It's a newfound inspiration for Halep who seriously doubted both her tennis and her body in recent months:

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"The injury last year made me feel that with stopping for four months, I cannot get the rhythm back. I'm 30, so I thought always at 30 it will be tough. I had this in my mind, I don't know why. Losing some matches, getting injured again was not easy. Also in Australia, also in Indian Wells. So I was doubting myself that my body can still hold for the highest level in tennis. So yeah, probably I was super close to stopping. I didn't have that energy and that confidence that I can still be on tour and at the highest level."

On working with Mouratoglou, she said:

"I feel like I can relate to him and he has enough power to lead me and I needed a person that can lead me. Nobody can compare with Serena, so I'm not going to do that now. He knows I'm a different person, I have a different style of playing, a different structure of the person. And we don't really talk about that. We just focus on ourselves, how we have with what we have to do to become the best version of myself."