Simona Halep flashes a smile in her first match back on tour. Can’t describe how much I missed seeing this lady on a tennis court. ❤️
"I'm old, I'm not that young anymore": Simona Halep set to manage schedule on tour return, isn't sure on next step after sudden Miami wildcard
WTASunday, 24 March 2024 at 22:30
Simona
Halep discussed her next steps on the WTA Tour following her return at the
Miami Open, where she fell in the first round to Paula Badosa by 6-1, 4-6, 3-6.
The former world No. 1 had been out of professional competition for 19 months
but showed a good level of competitiveness.
The news of
the Romanian's return came just a week before the start of the tournament in
Miami. Halep's appeal to the CAS reduced her suspension to 9 months and
considering that she had already been suspended for more than 15 months, it was
determined that Halep could return to the WTA Tour immediately.
The 2-times
Grand Slam champion never stopped training and preparing to return to
competition, as she repeatedly showed on social media. However, her return was
abrupt. Halep acknowledged that it was not in her plans to return in hardcourt
tournaments.
“To be honest, I was thinking that I would come back on clay
to have a little bit of time to take a breath and settle down. But the positive
feeling was so big, and I had some people around me who told me you have to go
to feel the energy again," she said. “It was the right decision, the best
decision to come to Miami, to feel the energy, to feel the love of people and
to feel the freedom again,” Halep added.
The
Romanian acknowledged that she doesn't have a clear scheduling plan for the
upcoming months but hopes to compete as much as possible, considering her age
of 32: “I don't have a plan. It's just the first tournament, and I don't know
what the plan is going to be, but I want to play as much as possible to get the
rhythm back.”
“I'm old.
I'm not that young anymore and I have to manage the comeback very well. I don't
want to get injured. Most people told me to be worried about it because 18
months is a lot and I have to take it slow. So I have to talk to Carlos and
we're going to decide together, for sure.”
“I just
want to enjoy the joy that I have. It's been incredible this week. Even if I
lost first round, it doesn't matter. It's not about tennis these days. It's
about my personal feelings, how I feel as a human being, and I feel great.”
“So I want
to keep this feeling, and I want it to help me in future tournaments because I
know I'm very excited now, but there are going to be moments when I will be
like, ‘Why am I here?’ So it's going to be difficult, in a way, but I want to
make it easier by enjoying playing tennis,” Simona Halep concluded.
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