173 Facts About Simona Halep

1.

Simona Halep is a Romanian professional tennis player.

2.

Simona Halep has been ranked world No 1 in singles twice between 2017 and 2019, for a total of 64 weeks, which ranks eleventh in the history of the Women's Tennis Association rankings.

3.

Simona Halep has won two Grand Slam singles titles: the 2018 French Open and the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

4.

From 27 January 2014 to 8 August 2021, Halep was ranked in the top 10 for 373 consecutive weeks, the eighth-longest streak in WTA history.

5.

Simona Halep has won 24 WTA Tour singles titles and finished runner-up 18 times.

6.

Simona Halep won her first six WTA titles in the same calendar year in 2013, and was the first to do so since Steffi Graf in 1986.

7.

Simona Halep reached three major finals at the 2014 French Open, 2017 French Open, and 2018 Australian Open before winning her first major title at the 2018 French Open over Sloane Stephens.

8.

Simona Halep finished runner-up at the 2014 WTA Finals to Serena Williams, despite thrashing Williams in the round-robin stage.

9.

Simona Halep did not defeat Williams a second time until the final of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

10.

Simona Halep was named the WTA Most Popular Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015, as well as the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year in 2017,2018, and 2019.

11.

Simona Halep is a recipient of the Patriarchal Cross of Romania and the Order of the Star of Romania, and was named an honorary citizen of Bucharest.

12.

Simona Halep is the third Romanian to reach the top 10 of the WTA rankings after Virginia Ruzici and Irina Spirlea, and the second Romanian woman to win a major singles title after Ruzici.

13.

Simona Halep is the first Romanian woman to be ranked world No 1 and the first Romanian to win a Wimbledon singles title.

14.

Simona Halep is regarded as one of the best returners on the WTA Tour, while building her game around controlled aggression and being able to hit winners from defensive positions.

15.

Simona Halep was born on 27 September 1991 in Constanta, Romania to Stere and Tania Halep, who are of Aromanian descent.

16.

Simona Halep has a brother Nicolae who is five and a half years older.

17.

Simona Halep's father played lower-division football for AS Sageata Stejaru and worked as a zootechnics technician before becoming the owner of a dairy products factory.

18.

Simona Halep developed an interest in supporting his children's athletic ventures as a consequence of wondering how far he would have progressed as a footballer if his parents could have provided him with more financial support when he was growing up.

19.

When Simona Halep was four years old, she started playing tennis after attending one of her brother's training sessions.

20.

When Simona Halep was sixteen, she moved away from her family to train in Bucharest.

21.

Simona Halep began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2005 at the age of 13 and finished runner-up at the low-level Grade 4 Mamaia-Sen Junior ITF Tournament in Romania in her second career event.

22.

Simona Halep represented Romania at the Junior Fed Cup that year alongside Irina-Camelia Begu and Andreea Mitu.

23.

Simona Halep moved up to higher-level events in 2007 and won her first and only Grade 1 title at the Perin Memorial in Umag in April.

24.

Simona Halep made her junior Grand Slam debut that year, losing in the third round at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

25.

Simona Halep improved her junior Grand Slam performance in 2008, her last year on the junior tour.

26.

Simona Halep then finished her junior career by winning her only junior Grand Slam title at the French Open.

27.

Simona Halep defeated compatriot Elena Bogdan in three sets in the final to become the second Romanian girl to win a junior Grand Slam singles title after Mariana Simionescu won the 1974 French Open.

28.

Simona Halep turned pro in 2006 and started her professional career playing low-level $10K ITF Women's Circuit events in Romania in 2006 and 2007.

29.

Simona Halep won both her first two ITF singles and doubles titles in back-to-back weeks in Bucharest in May 2007.

30.

Simona Halep began playing more higher-level events once she finished her junior career, reaching a $50K final in 2009 in Makarska.

31.

Simona Halep attempted to qualify for WTA events twice that year, losing in the second qualifying round at both the Open GDF Suez and the French Open.

32.

Simona Halep made her WTA main-draw debut in April 2010, qualifying for three consecutive events.

33.

At her third event, Simona Halep made her first career WTA final, finishing runner-up at the Morocco Open to Iveta Benesova.

34.

Simona Halep's best result of the year after the US Open was a final at the $100K Torhout Ladies Open, which helped her finish the season with a year-end ranking of No 81 in the world.

35.

Simona Halep won her first career Grand Slam matches at the Australian Open, defeating Anne Kremer and No 23 Alisa Kleybanova to reach the third round.

36.

Simona Halep reached the second round at Wimbledon, losing in three sets to seventh-seed and defending champion Serena Williams.

37.

At the US Open, Simona Halep then recorded her first top 10 victory over No 6 Li Na in her opening match, despite playing with an ankle sprain she suffered at the Rogers Cup.

38.

Simona Halep finished the year at No 47 in the world.

39.

Simona Halep maintained a steady ranking throughout 2012, rising no higher than No 37, falling no lower than No 63, and finishing the year at No 47 for the second consecutive year.

40.

Simona Halep won just one Grand Slam singles match all year, which came at the US Open.

41.

Simona Halep defeated No 21 Jelena Jankovic and No 16 Dominika Cibulkova before losing to top seed and world No 3 Agnieszka Radwanska.

42.

Simona Halep defeated three top 20 players at the Premier 5 event, including No 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, before losing to world No 1 Serena Williams who was on a 23-match win streak.

43.

Simona Halep continued to struggle at the Grand Slams, losing in the opening round at both the Australian Open and the French Open, while making the second round at Wimbledon.

44.

Simona Halep won her fourth title at the New Haven Open, defeating No 8 Caroline Wozniacki and No 9 Petra Kvitova in the semifinals and final respectively.

45.

Simona Halep continued her success at the US Open, where she was seeded at a Grand Slam event for the first time at No 21.

46.

Simona Halep made it to the fourth round, her best result at a Grand Slam event to date.

47.

Simona Halep won a fifth title at the Premier-level Kremlin Cup, defeating Stosur in the final.

48.

Simona Halep won this event as well, defeating No 16 Ana Ivanovic and No 19 Stosur in the knockout rounds.

49.

Simona Halep was second on the tour in singles titles behind only Serena Williams who had 11, and was the first woman to win her first six WTA titles in the same season since Steffi Graf in 1986.

50.

The next month, Simona Halep won her first Premier 5 title at the Qatar Open, defeating three top 10 opponents in the last three rounds, including No 9 Angelique Kerber in the final.

51.

Simona Halep finished runner-up to Maria Sharapova at both the Premier Mandatory Madrid Open and the French Open.

52.

Simona Halep had not lost a set before the French Open final, making her the first woman to reach her maiden Grand Slam final without dropping a set since Martina Hingis at the 1997 Australian Open.

53.

The next month, Simona Halep came close to another Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, but was upset in the semifinals by No 13 Eugenie Bouchard after suffering an ankle injury in the first set.

54.

Simona Halep won the event for her second and last title of the year, defeating Roberta Vinci in the final.

55.

Simona Halep did not play another event until the WTA Tour Championships, where she qualified for the first time.

56.

Simona Halep won two of three matches in her round robin group to advance to the knockout rounds, defeating No 5 Eugenie Bouchard and No 1 Serena Williams before losing her last match to No 7 Ana Ivanovic.

57.

The victory over Williams was her first over a current world No 1 and was tied for the most lopsided loss of Williams' career at the time, as Simona Halep held her to just two games.

58.

Simona Halep won her semifinal against No 6 Agnieszka Radwanska to set up a rematch with Williams in the final.

59.

Simona Halep finished the year at No 3 in the world, behind Williams and Sharapova.

60.

Simona Halep had a strong start to 2015, reaching at least the quarterfinals in her first six events.

61.

Nonetheless, Simona Halep rebounded to win her next two events, the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Indian Wells Open.

62.

Simona Halep extended her win streak to 14 matches at the Miami Open where she lost in the semifinals to world No 1 Serena Williams.

63.

Simona Halep did not reach any finals during the clay court season, with her best results being two semifinals at the Stuttgart Open and the Italian Open.

64.

Simona Halep had won the second set of the final in Canada against Belinda Bencic, but ultimately needed to retire midway through the third set due to heat illness two and a half hours into the match.

65.

Simona Halep recovered in time to play Cincinnati, but lost in the final to world No 1 Serena Williams.

66.

Simona Halep then produced her best Grand Slam result of the year, a semifinal at the US Open.

67.

Simona Halep was upset at the event by the eventual champion, No 26 Flavia Pennetta.

68.

Simona Halep had a slow start to the year, highlighted by an opening round loss at the Australian Open to qualifier Zhang Shuai who had not won a Grand Slam match in 14 attempts.

69.

Simona Halep dealt with both an achilles injury and infections in the first two months of the season, and delayed nose surgery so she could play in the Fed Cup.

70.

Simona Halep did not continue this form into the French Open, losing to Samantha Stosur in the fourth round in a controversial match where play continued in rainy conditions.

71.

Simona Halep fared better at Wimbledon, losing to eventual runner-up No 4 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.

72.

Simona Halep followed up Wimbledon with back-to-back titles at the Bucharest Open and the Canadian Open, her last two titles of the year.

73.

Simona Halep made her first career WTA doubles final at the Canadian Open, finishing runner-up to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina alongside compatriot Monica Niculescu.

74.

In singles, Simona Halep was able to defeat Kerber in Canada in the semifinals, and won in the final against No 12 Madison Keys.

75.

At the US Open, Simona Halep made another Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to world No 1 Serena Williams in a tight three-set match.

76.

Simona Halep's best result of the last stage of the year was a semifinal at the Wuhan Open, where she lost to eventual champion Petra Kvitova.

77.

Simona Halep finished the season ranked No 4 in the world.

78.

Simona Halep rebounded during the clay court season, reaching at least the semifinals at all four events she entered.

79.

Simona Halep defended her title at the Madrid Open to secure a Premier Mandatory title for the third consecutive year.

80.

Simona Halep made the final the following week at the Premier 5 Italian Open, but finished runner-up to No 11 Elina Svitolina.

81.

Simona Halep needed to save a match point in the second set tiebreak.

82.

Simona Halep defeated world No 3 Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals in three sets to make her second final at the French Open.

83.

Heavily favoured against unseeded Jelena Ostapenko, Simona Halep led the final by a set and a break before Ostapenko came from behind to win in three sets.

84.

At Wimbledon, Simona Halep lost in the quarterfinals to British No 1 Johanna Konta, who had defeated her earlier in the year at Miami as well.

85.

Simona Halep continued to produce strong results in the second half of the season.

86.

Simona Halep made it to the semifinals at the Canadian Open, losing again to Svitolina.

87.

Simona Halep fared better at the Cincinnati Open, finishing runner-up to Garbine Muguruza.

88.

However, at the US Open, Simona Halep was given a difficult draw in the first round against former champion Maria Sharapova, who was unseeded because she was returning from a doping suspension.

89.

Nonetheless, Simona Halep rebounded and reached another Premier Mandatory final at the China Open.

90.

Simona Halep defeated Sharapova during the event, but finished runner-up to No 15 Caroline Garcia.

91.

Simona Halep is the first Romanian woman to hold the No 1 ranking, and the seventh to do so without having first won a Grand Slam tournament.

92.

Simona Halep finished the season as the world No 1.

93.

Simona Halep began the season by winning both the singles and doubles titles at the Shenzhen Open.

94.

Simona Halep faced No 2 Caroline Wozniacki in the final and lost in another tight three-set match, losing the No 1 ranking to Wozniacki.

95.

Simona Halep reached two more hard court semifinals in the next two months at the Qatar Open and the Indian Wells Open.

96.

Simona Halep did not win any titles on clay in the lead-up to the French Open, with her best result being a runner-up finish at the Italian Open to Elina Svitolina in a rematch of the previous year's final.

97.

At the French Open, Simona Halep made her second Grand Slam final in a row and second consecutive French Open final, defeating No 12 Angelique Kerber and No 3 Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

98.

Simona Halep then came from a set and a break down against No 10 Sloane Stephens to win her first career Grand Slam title.

99.

Simona Halep became just the sixth player to win both the girls' singles title and the women's singles title at the French Open, as well as the fourth woman to win a Grand Slam singles title after three or more runner-ups.

100.

The only grass court event Simona Halep played was Wimbledon, where she was upset by world No 48 Hsieh Su-wei despite having a match point.

101.

Simona Halep continued her success on hard courts after Wimbledon, reaching the final at both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open.

102.

Simona Halep won the Canadian Open against Sloane Stephens in three sets in a rematch of the French Open final.

103.

Together with her two Australian Open classics, Simona Halep won the three best women's matches of the year according to Tennis.

104.

Simona Halep nearly won back-to-back Premier 5 titles the following week, but finished runner-up to No 17 Kiki Bertens despite having a match point in the second-set tiebreak.

105.

Simona Halep recovered from her back injury in time for the start of the 2019 season.

106.

Simona Halep lost her first match back at the Sydney International to the eventual runner-up Ashleigh Barty.

107.

Simona Halep received a difficult draw at the Australian Open and lost in the fourth round to Serena Williams, who had finished runner-up at the previous two Grand Slam events.

108.

Simona Halep finished runner-up to Elise Mertens at her next event, the Qatar Open.

109.

Simona Halep made another hard court semifinal at the Miami Open.

110.

Simona Halep played in one grass court tune-up, losing in the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne International to Angelique Kerber.

111.

At Wimbledon, Simona Halep made it to the final as the seventh seed, only dropping one set in the second round against compatriot Mihaela Buzarnescu.

112.

Simona Halep did not face a seeded opponent until she defeated No 8 Elina Svitolina in the semifinals.

113.

Simona Halep entered the final against Serena Williams as an underdog, having won just one match against her in ten meetings.

114.

Simona Halep became the first Romanian to win a Wimbledon singles title and rose back to world No 4.

115.

Simona Halep closed out her season at the WTA Finals, where she reunited with coach Darren Cahill.

116.

Simona Halep finished the season at No 4 in the world.

117.

Simona Halep started the 2020 WTA Tour at the new tournament in Adelaide, where she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic, but lost in the quarterfinals to Aryna Sabalenka.

118.

At the Australian Open, Simona Halep reached the semifinals, where she lost to Garbine Muguruza, after having defeated Jennifer Brady, Harriet Dart, Yulia Putintseva, Elise Mertens, and Anett Kontaveit.

119.

Simona Halep won her 20th, 21st, and 22nd WTA titles this year.

120.

Simona Halep got through her first three matches in straight sets, but lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round while winning only three games.

121.

Simona Halep started 2021 at Gippsland, where she was defeated in the quarterfinals by Ekaterina Alexandrova.

122.

Simona Halep won one match at the Miami Open against Caroline Garcia, but she then withdrew due to a right shoulder injury.

123.

Simona Halep lost to Elise Mertens in the third round of Madrid.

124.

Simona Halep retired from her opening Italian Open match against with Angelique Kerber after tearing a muscle in her left calf.

125.

Simona Halep then defeated Kristina Kucova and Elena Rybakina to reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in her career, but Elina Svitolina kept her from reaching the quarterfinals.

126.

Simona Halep finished the 2021 season at No 20; previously she had finished each year starting with 2014 in the top 5.

127.

Simona Halep won her 23rd title, and first in more than a year, at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1, beating Veronika Kudermetova in the final in straight sets.

128.

At the French Open, Simona Halep lost in the second round to teenager Zheng Qinwen.

129.

At Wimbledon, Simona Halep reached the semifinals without dropping a set, beating Karolina Muchova, Kirsten Flipkens, Magdalena Frech, No 4 Paula Badosa, and No 2 Amanda Anisimova, but lost to the eventual champion, Elena Rybakina, in the semifinals.

130.

Simona Halep defeated Jessica Pegula to reach the final for the fourth time at this tournament and a first WTA 1000 final in two years.

131.

Simona Halep became the player with the joint-most WTA 1000 18 finals to level with Serena Williams since 2009.

132.

Simona Halep won her 24th title and third at the same tournament for the first time in her career defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia.

133.

At the Cincinnati Masters, Simona Halep withdrew from her second round match against Veronika Kudermetova due to thigh injury, after having defeated Anastasia Potapova in first round.

134.

At the 2022 US Open, Simona Halep was stunned by qualifier Daria Snigur in the first round.

135.

In October 2022, it was announced that Simona Halep had tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.

136.

Simona Halep played on the team in 2010,2012, and 2014 when they were in this group.

137.

Simona Halep won all three of her singles matches in 2010 and 2012, but lost a decisive doubles match in both ties Romania lost.

138.

Simona Halep had partnered with Raluca Olaru in their loss against Switzerland in 2010, and Irina-Camelia Begu in their loss against Poland in 2012.

139.

Simona Halep postponed having nose surgery to make her Fed Cup World Group debut in the first round against the defending champion Czech Republic team at home in Cluj.

140.

Simona Halep lost the first match of the tie to Karolina Pliskova, despite taking the first set.

141.

Germany won three of the four singles rubbers, with Simona Halep losing her second singles match to Angelique Kerber, to relegate Romania back to World Group II for 2017.

142.

Simona Halep missed Romania's first Fed Cup tie in 2017 due to injury.

143.

Simona Halep won both of her rubbers, while Buzarnescu lost both of hers.

144.

The tie began similarly to the first round, with Simona Halep winning her two singles matches and Buzarnescu losing her first.

145.

Simona Halep skipped the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to concerns over the Zika virus.

146.

Simona Halep was set to be the flag bearer for Romania at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, however she withdrew due to a calf injury she was recovering from.

147.

Simona Halep uses her speed and anticipation to set up powerful shots rather than just extend points.

148.

Simona Halep was described as "no one's idea of a grass-court player [before Wimbledon]" after winning the title there in 2019.

149.

Simona Halep has had success on all surfaces, winning 10 hard court titles in 18 finals, 7 clay court titles in 16 finals, and both of her grass court finals.

150.

Simona Halep has won a Grand Slam title on clay and grass courts but not hard courts, coming closest with her runner-up finish at the 2018 Australian Open.

151.

Simona Halep is one of the best returners on the WTA Tour.

152.

Simona Halep hired Wim Fissette, a former coach of Kim Clijsters, at the start of 2014.

153.

Under Fissette, Simona Halep made her first Grand Slam final at the 2014 French Open.

154.

At the start of 2016, Simona Halep began working with Darren Cahill, a former top 25 player from Australia.

155.

In three years with Cahill, Simona Halep finished two seasons with the No 1 ranking, reached three Grand Slam finals, and won her first Grand Slam title at the 2018 French Open.

156.

Simona Halep's longtime fitness coach is Teo Cercel, who she has worked with since she was a junior.

157.

Simona Halep signed a $1.7 million deal a few weeks after competing at the 2018 Australian Open without a sponsor and finishing as the runner-up.

158.

Simona Halep did not have a sponsor because her deal with Adidas, which began in May 2014, ended at the start of the year.

159.

Simona Halep had a three-year deal with Vodafone Romania that began in November 2014.

160.

Simona Halep appeared in commercials for Vodafone with her mother as part of their "Romanii au initiativa" campaign.

161.

Simona Halep has appeared in Romanian commercials for Rexona, an international antiperspirant company.

162.

Simona Halep endorses Dorna, a Romanian brand of water produced by Coca-Cola Romania, and has participated in their "Grija pentru copii" campaign to provide care for babies born prematurely.

163.

Simona Halep is sponsored by Dedeman, the largest Romanian home improvement chain.

164.

Simona Halep has been a brand ambassador for the Mercedes-Benz Romania automobile manufacturing company since 2017, and internationally for Hublot watches since 2016.

165.

Romanian journalist Adrian Toca said, "Simona Halep is without a doubt the biggest sports star in Romania".

166.

Simona Halep has been named a cetatean de onoare, an honorary citizen of Bucharest.

167.

Simona Halep has been awarded the Patriarchal Cross of Romania and the Order of the Star of Romania.

168.

Simona Halep was named the WTA Most Popular Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015 for being the most-clicked player on the WTA website.

169.

Simona Halep was named the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player for three consecutive years in 2017,2018, and 2019.

170.

Simona Halep first met Hagi when she was nine years old and took a photo with him after he played a tennis match at the same facility where she was training.

171.

Simona Halep is a big fan of football and is an experienced player, saying, "I played a lot of football when I was a kid, on the street with my cousins and my brother".

172.

Simona Halep underwent breast reduction surgery at the age of 17 primarily to improve "her ability to react quickly" as a tennis player.

173.

Simona Halep underwent nose surgery in September 2022 to correct breathing problems as well as to reshape her nose.