Simona Halep was World No.1 and a Two-Time Grand Slam Champion then it all fell apart

In 2019, Simona Halep was celebrating a brilliant Wimbledon title where she dropped only four games against the great Serena Williams. Four years later and she was suspended from even competing. The Romanian’s tale is full of glittering highs marred by abysmal lows that has tarnished the reputation of someone that was destined to stay at the top.

One of the most popular players on tour, Halep possessed a full arsenal of weapons that she regularly utilised on court, powering her way into the elite before finally living her dream in 2018 as she won a first Grand Slam at Roland Garros after numerous fails at the final hurdle.

That success was repeated over a year later in an iconic Wimbledon run that cemented her name among the greats. She was supposed to go on and win more titles and collect prestigious accolades in doing so. Instead, things took a dark turn.

A failed drugs test provoked suspicion by many. Her fabulous achievements on the tennis court were put to one side as her name was tarnished and dragged through the dirt. An inevitable suspension would come, and that spelt doom for her tennis career.

It was not meant to end like this. While she did make a return to the WTA Tour in 2024 after her suspension was upheld, it was not long before she officially called it a day, ruefully admitting that she would never reach those heroic heights she once ruled from. But how could a career as good as Halep’s was take such a nasty turn?

In many of these stories, the player rises up the ranks very quickly with their potential realised and relished almost instantly whether through winning a Grand Slam or big title or just enjoying a large amount of success. Halep's is not like that, taking a more patient and some may say rewarding route to the top.

Steady progress through the ranks between 2008 and 2012 saw her ranking grow as each year passed, gaining more experience and lessons in the process that would prove to be crucial in her years as one of the best.

The attacking power and consistency would come over time, but there were promising signs on court. Her movement was excellent and she was able to absorb the pace of many players, making her a pest to compete against. This resulted in her climbing into the top 50 in 2012. She would not drop put for over a decade.

She had reached three WTA finals, all resulting in defeats. 2013 changed everything as her career really did take off. Six finals reached, six titles won. Most impressive was that it was on every surface, showcasing a tendency in not having trouble in adapting to different surfaces. She finished the year ranked No.11, earning the WTA's Most Improved Player award.

This is where Halep really stamped her authority. She made it seven WTA final wins on the spin with the biggest victory of her career to date. The Qatar Open at WTA 1000 level was a brilliant title to win, but she could not back it up in Madrid. She was defeated by Maria Sharapova, someone that would prove to trouble Halep dearly that clay swing. Her first Grand Slam final came at Roland Garros, but again the Russian was there to prevail, leaving Halep to wait a little longer to taste that sweet major glory.

Her debut at the WTA Finals ended in a final defeat against Williams. Halep would end up having the last laugh later down the line, but for the time being she continued to make a name for herself. She reached fourth WTA 1000 finals in 2015, winning again in Qatar and Indian Wells before defeats in Canada and Cincinnati led to a semi-final run at the US Open. She ended that year second in the world.

One of the most consistent and feared tennis starts on the planet, 2016 saw her again win two WTA 1000 titles in Madrid and Canada, but that elusive major triumph was still out of her reach. Yes she was enjoying a lot of success, but just one semi-final in those two prior years at Grand Slam level was not a great look.

She fixed that at Roland Garros in what was a marvellous clay swing. She defended her triumph on Spanish soil before Elina Svitolina took her down in the Italian capital. A third final on the spin came in Paris, a second chance at French Open glory. Heartbreak would again be the end result as an unseeded Jelena Ostapenko came back from a set and break deficit to produce a gigantic upset.

The one positive that she could take amid another brace of WTA 1000 final defeats was that she ended the year as World No.1. In total she spent 64 weeks perched on top of the order with her first week there commencing on October 9 2017.

A dramatic three-set battle against Caroline Wozniacki began 2018 for the Romanian. It went the way of Wozniacki and a third Grand Slam final had slipped out of Halep's grasp. Melbourne needed to be forgotten with more tournaments on the horizon. All the roads led to Paris, where finally Halep immortalised herself.

Persistent efforts proved dividends as this was the year where she shrugged off the pressure with the burden to win a Grand Slam title firmly shrugged off. It seemed to be a 'her we go again' situation as Sloane Stephens led 6-3. However, a brilliant comeback by Halep confirmed the biggest title of her career.

The shackles had well and truly been thrown away with a seventh WTA 1000 title being earned in Canada as she finished World No.1 for a second consecutive year. Her major form the rest of the year was a bit disappointing, but it was all made up for in 2018 when Halep made her way to SW19.

Widely recognised as one of, if not the, greatest tennis tournament of her career, Halep was simply unbeatable at Wimbledon. Not even Williams could get close to her. The final took 56 minutes and Halep completed just three unforced errors in what can be simply described as a flawless performance against one of the best to ever do it.

There was no sign of her falling off in 2020 despite the ongoing global pandemic. Titles in Dubai, Prague and most notably Rome helped her finish second in the world with the WTA tennis landscape changing with new talents emerging. It seemed that Halep would be sticking around. She was once the new kid on the block, now she was the player everyone wanted to beat. However, they would soon not get a chance to do so as her career was set to take an unexpected turn for the worse.

When you look at a tennis career downfall, injuries is normally one of the more prominent reasons, but not specifically for Halep although you can make a case for 2021 being an injury-prone year. Momentum was lost as shoulder, calf and knee problems wrecked what was years of prosperous health. It was the first year that she did not reach a WTA 1000 final in since 2013, and for the first time since 2012 she did not finish the year inside the top 10, languishing down in 20th.

2022 showed that the prior year was just a one-off. Halep won the Canadian Open title for the third time. It was her ninth WTA 1000 crown from 18 finals, and would be her last. A Wimbledon semi-final also helped her climb back into the top 10.

In October of that year, it was announced that Halep had tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. From this point onwards, her life was turned upside down. It was a huge story in the tennis world as one of the best players from the last decade faced immediate expulsion from the WTA Tour. The players were on Halep's side, but the International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) looked the other way and handed out a four-year ban.

This was confirmed almost a year after the incident first took place with Halep set to be out of the sport until 7 October 2026. With her set to be 35 by then, it seemed that her tennis career was all but over, at least at the very top. However, a lifeline emerged as Halep continued to fight the case, determined to get her name cleared and return to the action.

Halep appealed the four-year ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling, and in March 2024 she was allowed to compete again. This triumphant return followed months and months of gruelling frustration and constant setbacks. Her tennis career had been wrecked, and she was not hitting the same heights as she once did.

The injury problems continued to hamper her as she withdrew from Australian Open qualifying in 2025, ending her time in the sport following a first round exit at the Transylvania Open in February 2025. The retirement was sudden and a shock for many, but also made a lot of sense.

In truth, it is hard to look at the career of Halep without admiration or respect. The two-time Grand Slam champion also won nine WTA 1000 titles, 24 WTA titles and reached the final of the WTA Finals. Overall it was an extremely decorated career which saw her spend 64 weeks as World No.1 over two stints between 2017 and 2019.

However, this story does not end in a positive manner. While the doping suspension was detrimental, Halep was fortunate that it came then and not a couple of years before. Injuries were starting to crop up as she aged into her 30s, but the results were still positive. That Canadian Open title leaves a lot of question marks on what Halep could have done if she was not suspended. Another Grand Slam run even could have been on the cards if she was fit.

Many will dwell on what could have been, but that is slightly pointless. Her career met a nasty ending, but it was one to be proud of. Her reputation has most definitely been tarnished, especially to a newer generation that would have missed the golden years but in the midst of that was an elite tennis player who strived to win the biggest titles tennis offered. No matter how many times she failed, she always got back up and fought on with her incredible consistency proving to be a pivotal factor in why she has been so highly regarded over the years.