Athlete of the Week – Tennis player Simona Halep

Florin Orban, 22.09.2020, 12:11

Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep, world no. 2, on Monday won her third WTA tournament in
2020. She won her first Internazionali BNL d’Italia title after defeating
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who withdrew in the second set. For
her achievement at the Foro Italico, we have designated Simona Halep Athlete of
the Week on RRI.

Simona Halep has
thus grabbed her 14th consecutive win this year. Her last defeat was
at the Australian Open in January, when she lost in the semi-finals to Spain’s
Garbine Muguruza. The Romanian won the rematch in Rome, where she ousted
Muguruza in the semis after a close match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. It was actually the
only match in Rome where Simona lost a set. The Romanian player is next
preparing for the Roland Garros, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year,
where she is seeded first.

Born September
27, 1991 in Constanta, Simona Halep made her debut in professional tennis in
2006, when she played her first games in the ITF circuit. In 2010 she became a
Top 100 player. In 2014, in August, she was ranked 2nd in WTA
standings, a position which, at the time, marked a premiere for Romanian
women’s tennis. In October 2017 she became world no. 1, a position she kept until
January 2018. She reclaimed the top position in the standings and remained
world leader until early 2019. She was world number one for 64 weeks. She was
won two Grand Slam tournaments so far: Roland Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in
2019.

(Translated by
V. Palcu)