Simona Halep is a Romanian former professional tennis player who achieved the world No. 1 ranking in women's singles by the WTA for 64 weeks. She finished as the year-end No. 1 in both 2017 and 2018. During her career, Halep secured 25 WTA Tour-level titles, including two Grand Slam victories: the 2018 French Open and the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.
In 1973, Romania last reached the semifinals of the World Group before their appearance in 2019.
In 1974, Mariana Simionescu won the French Open, setting a precedent for future Romanian tennis players.
In 1986, Steffi Graf achieved a similar feat to Halep, by being the last person to win her first six WTA titles in the same season.
On 27 September 1991, Simona Halep was born in Constanța, Romania.
In 1997, Martina Hingis reached her maiden Grand Slam final without dropping a set at the Australian Open.
In 2006, Simona Halep started her professional tennis career playing low-level ITF Women's Circuit events in Romania.
In May 2007, Simona Halep won her first two ITF singles and doubles titles in back-to-back weeks in Bucharest.
In June 2008, Simona Halep won her first $25k singles title in Sweden.
In 2008, Halep began working with Firicel Tomai as her coach.
In 2008, Simona Halep won her only junior Grand Slam title at the French Open, defeating Elena Bogdan in the final and becoming the top-ranked junior in the world.
In 2009, Simona Halep defeated No. 96 Angelique Kerber for her first top 100 victory and reached the top 200 of the WTA rankings.
She became the player with the joint-most WTA 1000 18 finals to level with Serena Williams since 2009.
In April 2010, Simona Halep made her WTA Tour main-draw debut, reaching the quarterfinals at the Andalucia Tennis Experience and finishing runner-up at the Morocco Open.
Halep made her debut for the Romania Fed Cup team in 2010 in the third-tier Europe/Africa Zone Group I. She won all three of her singles matches in 2010 but lost a decisive doubles match against Switzerland.
In 2011, Simona Halep broke into the world's top 50 in tennis rankings.
2012 was the first season since 2012 where Halep did not win a WTA singles title.
In 2012, Halep played on the Romania Fed Cup team, winning all three of her singles matches, but losing a decisive doubles match against Poland.
In 2012, Halep represented Romania at the London Olympics, losing her opening round match to Yaroslava Shvedova.
In August 2013, Simona Halep entered the top 20 in the world tennis rankings.
Around 2013, Halep transitioned from a defensive player to a more aggressive baseliner, improving her style of play.
Despite a breakthrough year with six titles in 2013, Halep left her coach Adrian Marcu at the end of the season.
In 2013, the Romania Fed Cup team only won one tie.
In January 2014, Simona Halep achieved a top 10 ranking in the world of tennis.
Since January 2014, Halep had been a consistent presence in the top 10 rankings.
In May 2014, Halep began her sponsorship deal with Adidas, which later ended at the start of 2018.
In November 2014, Halep signed a three-year deal with Vodafone Romania and appeared in their commercials.
In 2014, Halep hired Wim Fissette, and under his coaching, she made her first Grand Slam final at the French Open.
In 2014, Halep was named the WTA Most Popular Player of the Year.
In 2014, Simona Halep reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open and won her first Premier 5 title at the Qatar Open. She also reached the finals at both the Madrid Open and the French Open.
Starting with 2014, Halep had finished each year in the top 5.
In 2015, Halep and Begu led Romania to a victory against Spain in the World Group II, with Halep winning against Sílvia Soler Espinosa. However, both lost to Garbiñe Muguruza.
In 2015, Halep started the season strongly, reaching at least the quarterfinals in her first six events, winning the Shenzhen Open, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, winning the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Indian Wells Open. She reached the semi-finals at the Miami Open. During the clay court season, she reached the semi-finals at the Stuttgart Open and the Italian Open. She was upset in the second round of the French Open and at Wimbledon.
In 2015, Halep was named the WTA Most Popular Player of the Year.
In 2015, Romania got promoted to World Group II.
In 2016, Halep began working with Darren Cahill, leading to significant achievements including two No. 1 rankings and a Grand Slam title.
In 2016, Halep debuted in the Fed Cup World Group against the Czech Republic, losing to Karolína Plíšková initially but winning against Petra Kvitová on the second day.
In 2016, Halep skipped the Rio de Janeiro Olympics due to concerns over the Zika virus.
In 2016, Halep underperformed at the Grand Slam events, starting with an opening round loss at the Australian Open. She dealt with an Achilles injury and infections. In March 2016, Halep lost in the quarterfinals at both Premier Mandatory events. During the clay-court season, Halep won the Madrid Open. At the French Open, she lost to Samantha Stosur in the fourth round and at Wimbledon, she lost to Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.
In 2016, Romania faced the defending champion Czech Republic team in the World Group, a tie that was repeated in 2019.
Since 2016, Halep has been internationally sponsored by Hublot watches.
In 2017, Halep and Romania were relegated back to World Group II after losing to Germany in the World Group play-offs, with Halep losing to Angelique Kerber.
In 2017, Halep reached the semifinals at the Canadian Open and finished as runner-up at the Cincinnati Open. At the US Open, she lost in the first round to Maria Sharapova. Halep reached the final at the China Open. Despite the loss, Halep became the world No. 1 for the first time in 2017. She finished the season as the world No. 1.
In 2017, Halep was named the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player.
In 2017, Simona Halep achieved the World No. 1 ranking.
In 2017, Simona Halep was ranked as the year-end No. 1 in women's singles by the WTA.
Since 2017, Halep has been a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz Romania.
In February 2018, Halep signed a $1.7 million deal with Nike as her clothing sponsor.
In 2018, Halep finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, marking her closest attempt to winning a Grand Slam title on hard courts.
In 2018, Halep was welcomed back to Romania with large celebrations at the Arena Națională in Bucharest after winning the French Open.
In 2018, Halep won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open, coached by Darren Cahill, who then left her team.
In 2018, Simona Halep finished as runner-up at the Australian Open before winning the French Open.
In 2018, Simona Halep was again ranked as the year-end No. 1 in women's singles by the WTA and also won the French Open.
In 2018, Simona Halep was named the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year.
In 2018, despite Halep missing the tie due to injury, Romania won against Canada to advance back to the World Group play-offs.
In the 2018 season, Halep was ranked as one of the best returners on the WTA Tour, finishing first in percentage of first serve return points won at 42.9%.
In 2019, Halep lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open, also losing the No. 1 ranking. She finished runner-up at the Qatar Open and reached the semi-final at the Miami Open. Halep was runner-up at the Madrid Open, and lost in the quarterfinals to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open. As a result, Halep fell to No. 8 in the rankings.
In 2019, Halep was celebrated at the Arena Națională in Bucharest after her Wimbledon triumph, attended by notable Romanian athletes.
In 2019, Halep was the defending champion at Wimbledon.
In 2019, Halep won her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, coached by Daniel Dobre, and later rehired Darren Cahill.
In 2019, Halep won the Wimbledon title, despite being considered "no one's idea of a grass-court player" beforehand.
In 2019, Romania reached the Fed Cup semifinals for the first time since 1973, with Halep winning both of her singles matches against Karolína Plíšková and Kateřina Siniaková in the first round against Czech Republic.
In 2019, Romania, with Halep winning two singles rubbers, secured a victory against Switzerland to get promoted back to the top-tier World Group.
In 2019, Simona Halep achieved the World No. 1 ranking.
In 2019, Simona Halep was named the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year.
In 2020, Halep reached the quarterfinals at the Adelaide International and the semifinals at the Australian Open, where she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza.
In 2020, Halep was set to be the flag bearer for Romania at the Tokyo Olympics, but withdrew due to a calf injury.
In 2020, Halep won three WTA titles, including the Dubai Tennis Championships, Prague Open, and the Italian Open. She lost to Iga Swiatek in the fourth round of the 2020 French Open.
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.
In September 2021, Halep announced the end of her working relationship with Darren Cahill and rehired Adrian Marcu and Daniel Dobre.
On 15 September 2021, Halep married businessman Gabriel Iuruc.
In 2021, Halep was defeated in the quarterfinals at Gippsland and at the Australian Open. At the Miami Open, she withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, she reached the semifinals. She lost to Elise Mertens in the third round of Madrid.
In 2021, Halep was upset by Danielle Collins at the Canadian Open and won her first match since her calf injury at the Western & Southern Open. She withdrew from the next match due to an injury to her right adductor. At the US Open, she reached the round of 16. She finished the 2021 season at No. 20.
The ITIA has requested the disqualification of Halep's results from March 8, 2022, when blood Sample 44 was collected, to October 7, 2022, the start of Halep's Provisional Suspension.
In May 2022, after inconsistent results, Halep hired Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach.
In September 2022, Halep announced her divorce and underwent nose surgery to correct breathing problems and reshape her nose.
In October 2022, Simona Halep was suspended from the WTA Tour after testing positive for a banned substance.
In October 2022, it was announced that Halep had tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.
At the Cincinnati Open in 2022, Halep withdrew from her second-round match due to a thigh injury. At the US Open, she was defeated in the first round. After the US Open, she announced she would not play for the rest of the year after undergoing nose surgery.
In 2022, Halep won her 23rd title at the Melbourne Summer Set 1. At the Australian Open, she lost in the fourth round to Alizé Cornet. In February, Halep reached the semifinals of the Dubai Open. In March 2022, she lost in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Open and announced Patrick Mouratoglou as her full-time coach.
On September 12, 2023, Halep's suspension was upheld, and she received a four-year ban from tennis, making her ineligible to return to competition until October 7, 2026.
Halep appealed the four-year ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on February 7, 2024.
In February 2024, Simona Halep's ban was reduced, and she returned to the tour at the 2024 Miami Open.
Simona Halep retired from professional tennis in 2025.
Halep is ineligible to return to competition until October 7, 2026.