A huge shock for the tennis world: Grand Slam winner and former world number one announces retirement.

CLUJ – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has announced her retirement at the age of 33. She made the announcement after losing in the first round of the Transylvania Open in Cluj on Tuesday.

Halep lost to Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 1:6, 1:6 in her first match of the year, having received a wildcard from the organizers. After the match, she told the crowd that she was retiring.

“I am a realist. I know what this all involves, and my mind and body no longer allow it. I am happy with my career, and the decision was an easy one for me,” said the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion.

In 2017, Halep reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time, but she is now ranked 870th. Last month, she withdrew from both the Australian Open qualifiers and the Auckland tournament in New Zealand due to knee and shoulder pain.

Her recent career was overshadowed by a doping scandal. At the 2022 US Open, she tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat and was handed a four-year suspension. However, after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), her sentence was reduced to nine months, and Halep returned to tennis, though without major successes. She has won 24 singles titles and earned over 40 million dollars in prize money.