Simona Halep retirement: Tennis star says she almost 'gave up' on game recently

Simona Halep has revealed she almost retired from tennis back in February but has now got the “fire back” after hiring Patrick Mouratoglou as a coach. 

The Romanian is a former world number one and two-time major winner, but has not won a Grand Slam since 2019 and was plagued with injury problems in 2021.

Earlier this week, the 30-year-old suffered a panic attack during her second round match at the French Open against China’s Zheng Qinwen –– eventually losing in three sets 2-6 6-2 6-1. 

Following her exit, Halep shared a message on her Instagram, thanking her fans and stressing that the last 18 months has been extremely difficult for her. 

The two-time major winner wrote: “Hi everyone, I’m writing down these words because I feel like sharing with those who care. As always, I feel such great support from my fans, and I’d like to say thank you to all of you!

“You are great! You are supporting me unconditionally, and this means a lot!

“I’m generally not a dramatic person, and I hope I don’t sound like this by writing these words now. The last 18 months were very tough, emotional, and physical.

“After losing in Doha, my message to the people very close to me was that I could not do it anymore, that I was done with tennis. But somehow, I got the fire back and started to feel the love for tennis again, and I decided to work hard and make significant changes.” 

Halep then proceeded to thank her coach Mouratoglou, who she began working with after Indian Wells this year. 

Mouratoglou was the long-time mentor of Serena Williams and helped the US star win 10 Grand Slam titles. 

“I am very proud of myself for all I have done lately,” Halep said. “I could only do this with Patrick’s help, and I want to thank him for being by my