Former world number one Simona Halep has expressed gratitude for participating in the sporting festival in Cluj, Romania. The festival, which was organized over the weekend, featured some notable personalities, including former world number one America’s Andre Agassi and his wife, legendary tennis star Steffi Graf.
The 32-year-old, who is also from Romania, wrote a post on her official account on the social media platform X -- previously known as Twitter -- where she expressed her gratitude after receiving a lot of support from the fans and thanked Agassi and Graf for participating in the event.
“What a weekend! I wanted to take the time to say a huge thank you to the city of Cluj for hosting Sports Festival. To Patrick for his hard work in bringing the event together, to my partner Andrei and of course to the legends Agassi and Steffi. Thanks for the love,” she wrote.
Halep has experienced many ups and downs in recent years. The Constanta-born star was banned for using the banned substance Roxadustat during the US Open 2022. She first received a four-year ban, which was overturned in her appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
After her ban was overturned, Halep returned to the court immediately but has found it hard to produce consistent positive results. She took part in the Miami Open, where she lost in the round of 128 to Spain’s Paula Badosa with a score of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
She recently participated in a WTA Challengers event, where, once again, she exited the competition in the opening round after having to withdraw while playing against America’s Mccartney Kessler.
Halep was very successful before getting banned in 2022. In her illustrious career, she has won two Grand Slams. The first of those titles came in 2018, when she lifted the French Open after beating America’s Sloane Stephens in the final with a score of 3–6, 6–4, 6–1. After that, she won the Wimbledon title in 2019 after beating former world number one Serena Williams with a score of 6-2, 6-2.
What a weekend! I wanted to take the time to say a huge thank you to the city of Cluj for hosting Sports Festival 🇷🇴❤️ To Patrick for his hard work in bringing the event together, to my partner Andrei and of course to the legends Agassi and Steffi. Thanks for the love 🫶
