The tennis year 2020 of ... Simona Halep
Simona Halep won three titles in 2020 and finished this very special season in second place in the world - and yet the Romanian should look back on the past season with a crying eye.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Dec 28, 2020, 06:06 am
Simona Halep played a mere six tournaments in 2020, half of which the 29-year-old won. The only downer: the Romanian could not add any more to her two Grand Slam triumphs so far - which was also due to shooting star Iga Swiatek, who left Halep just three games in her last match of the season in the French Open round of 16.
Darren Cahill's protégé had a similarly smooth defeat at the beginning of the year when Halep Aryna Sabalenka lost 4-6 and 2-6 in the quarter-finals in Adelaide. At the Australian Open, however, the Romanian was in top form and was considered the favorite to win the tournament after her strong run into the semi-finals. The first set loss for Halep came in the same semifinals, in which, however, should also be the final destination - Garbine Muguruza won the extremely respectable game in two close rounds.
Corona as a constant companion
Despite this bitter defeat, Halep took the momentum to Dubai and secured her first title of the season after a great final against Elena Rybakina. Everything seemed ready for the return to the top of the world rankings before the coronavirus thwarted Halep and the entire tennis streak.
Due to the pandemic, the two-time Grand Slam winner then also did without the US Open. Halep, who won more than half of her return games over the entire season, should not return to the tour until the clay court tournament in Prague - and the comeback could hardly have been better for the 29-year-old: Both in the Czech capital Halep was the shining winner in Rome too, before the unexpected defeat against Swiatek in Paris.
To make matters worse, the Romanian was infected with the corona virus at the end of October, but according to her own statements, Halep has long been back at 100 percent - and therefore probably ready to knock Ashleigh Barty off the tennis drone and her Grand Slam collection in the coming season add more titles.