Players’ Voice with Simona Halep: “I found love for this sport again”

In the latest edition of Players’ Voice, the Romanian, winner at Roland-Garros in 2018, shares her joy at finally being in good health after a delicate year 2021. Happy again on the court, the 30-year-old player has also started a new collaboration with Patrick Mouratoglou. And hope that this new dynamic will allow him to do well in Paris in the coming days.

“I feel ‘brand new’, I feel more confident and above all much healthier. Finally! I have no more problems now, no more serious injuries. I’m so happy to be back on the court and I look forward to playing every game because I really want to keep improving.

Roland-Garros is my favorite tournament and I always feel good when I go there. It’s going to be a bit different because last year I couldn’t go, so we’ll see. I need more time to regain confidence, and especially to play matches. So hopefully I can continue to find the form before I go and enjoy it. For me, it’s the best tournament.

I will always have excellent memories of my title at Roland-Garros in 2018. It was my first Grand Slam and I had always dreamed of winning Roland-Garros. It was a nice atmosphere: a lot of fans were supporting me and I felt good. I will never forget this moment.

If I win again, it will always be so special because every time you win a Grand Slam, it’s very special. I’m 30 now, so I don’t put pressure on myself. I work hard because I dream of achieving it again. We will see if that will happen.

Before visiting the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy and announcing my partnership with Patrick, I had never met him. We had never spoken and we had never had a connection. The first was at the Academy, when I arrived there.

I had a very different perception of him before we started collaborating. I was very surprised. I really like his personality, his energy and his way of seeing tennis. It was actually me who approached Patrick to ask him to work with him. Normally, good coaches don’t ask players to work with them. I asked him if he was available and if he wanted to train me.

He and Darren Cahill, my former coach, are different and I don’t want to compare them. I’m also a different person now so it’s hard to compare, but both are great.

Of course, I could notice specific things that Patrick did with Serena that impressed me. Managing to keep a player motivated, who had already won many Grand Slam tournaments and who wanted to win more, is just incredible. I’ve always admired him for that. Now, since I know him better, I can imagine how he was with a player like that and the motivation he gave her to help her reach her best level.

Patrick brought me a lot of determination and helped me find my love for this sport. It’s a pleasure to be back on the court and working hard. Everything has changed and now I have to adapt, but I feel like I’ve done pretty well so far. I can’t wait to give my best every time I’m on the pitch and see how well I can still play.

What are we working on and should we focus our efforts on? We think I can be more aggressive. He really believes that I can do it and, little by little, I start to believe him too. We’re looking at that aspect, but we’re also working on my whole game, not just one specific thing in particular. Everything should fall into place gradually and I try to follow the plan.

Joining Patrick means meeting a new team and working on a new training ground in the south of France. It’s a huge change for me because I don’t train at home anymore. I always used to train at home in Romania. I’m only in France for tennis. It wasn’t easy at first, but now it’s quite natural and I feel good. Everyone has been very nice to me so I feel at home there.

Of course, I was shocked to learn of Ash Barty’s retirement because she was the best player in the world and she was winning everything. I don’t want to compare career and retirement plans in general because we have different lives from each other. She achieved more than I had achieved at her age, so I can’t compare.

I didn’t expect her to retire, but now that she has, it means she’s clearly happy with her decision. I wish him all the best. She was so strong to make this decision so quickly. Everyone has to decide for themselves and I understand that.

I’ve always said that if I felt like I couldn’t play at the highest level anymore, I would quit. I don’t want to play if I can’t believe in myself and my abilities. If you don’t really believe it, there’s no point in continuing. Now, having met Patrick and this new team has given me new confidence. They really believe that I can still play good tennis, so the goal is to win tournaments and be as strong as possible. I will do my best to achieve this. I’m ready and I’m all in. As for how many years I have left, it’s a day-to-day vision. I don’t want to set myself a single goal. The goal is just to get better every day, all the time.”

Follow Simona Halep on Instagram (@simonahalep) and Twitter (@Simona_Halep)