On her way to the elite of women’s tennis, Simona Halep (30 years old, 1,130 WTA) used a character trait that everyone who knows her very well talks about: stubbornness!
Simona Halep. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Because, probably, very few people believed that a petite athlete from Romania, only 1.68 meters tall, could impose herself in a women’s circuit dominated by some muscular athletes, raised at the most prestigious tennis schools in world. However, Simona, stubborn, believed in her chance, worked tirelessly and exceeded all expectations.
Unfortunately, the character trait that helped her rise in tennis turned out to be a double-edged sword. Because it also contributed to her downfall. First, when she persisted in the mistake of staying with Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach who dragged her into a major doping scandal. Only later, after a year, “Simo” dropped “SHIELD” which he had raised around the Frenchman and said at the TAS hearings that it was because of Mouratoglou that he used a contaminated supplement.
It was also because of stubbornness that, unfortunately, Simona’s return to the WTA circuit was ruled out. In early March, when TAS reduced her doping suspension to 9 months, allowing her to play immediately, Halep was advised by Ion Țiriac (85) to wait. But in vain! Șiriac spoke, Șiriac heard. “Simo”, on the other hand, as a beginner, boarded the first plane to the USA and, just 14 days after the TAS decision, entered the court at the Miami Open, being defeated by Paula Badosa after a two-hour match. And not only did he lose the match, but he also ruined his body! Her medical problems, which began then with shoulder and knee injuries, continue to haunt her now. And not even Halep knows when she can return to the court. Instead, she just admitted she didn’t need to rush her return to the field in March.
“Honestly, it was a mistake that I went to Miami. Because in February, when I had the TAS hearings, I didn’t train because I was exhausted. And I was living in a constant tension. I told myself: I will recover, staying calm. But I didn’t train for an hour in February. Then in March, going straight into the match, it wasn’t good physically“, said Halep in an interview with the Australian journalist, Craig Gabriel (Wearetennis).
He traveled to Bucharest and met with the former world number 1 at Stejarii Country Club. He recently published the first part of the dialogue, touching on other topics that we offer you in the lines below.
*About the moment when he received the positive result of the anti-doping test – I was already in bed, around 11 pm. I was reading my emails and I was shocked. Immediately, I sent a message to Patrick (no – Patrick Mouratoglou), who was my coach at the time, and another man. I said it was not possible, that such a thing did not happen. I asked them if it was true, if I had read the email correctly. And they said yes. Then it was like the sun disappeared. I was confused, I didn’t know how this happened… But I trusted the people I worked with, I took some supplements. They were verified, in a way, because on the box of those supplements it said that they did not contain banned substances. That’s why the positive test was a mental shock. Like when you get stabbed in the chest and run out of air…
*About the favorable verdict from TAS – A great joy. And, in those moments, I was with a special man and he said to me: Can you believe that you are enjoying so much for something you didn’t do? I told him he was right. Then I was still happy, but it all lasted for a few days. Because then the burden of this situation returned and stayed with me for a while. And I was, again, sad that I had to go through this.
*About Mouratgolou and his Academy team – I don’t feel the need to punish anyone for what happened. So I forgive. I never liked to blame the coach. Not even when they lose a match. I never blame the team. I take everything on myself. It’s not always good, because sometimes it becomes too much of a burden for my shoulders. But that’s who I am and that’s how I prefer to stay.
