Simona Halep is back in the game after a long hiatus. Two years ago, during the US Open in 2022, she was tested positive for a banned substance, Roxadustat. As a result, she was handed a 4-year suspension. Subsequently, she ended up missing the entire season last year. Fortunately, she found relief earlier this year after winning her appeal, with her ban getting reduced to 9 months. But the time away from court has cost her a lot, especially in the rankings. At one point, she used to dominate the No.1 spot – but now she’s far-far away from it!

In an Instagram story, dated December 1, Simona Halep reflected on her journey in the WTA rankings. The post she shared in her story showed her ranking from the last ten years. Back in 2015, Simona finished the season as No.2. In 2016, she was at No.4, but in 2017 and 2018, she dominated the top spot. Then in 2019 and 2020, she wrapped up the season on No.4 and 2 respectively. But the actual downfall came in 2021 when she moved out of top 10, finishing on No.20. She did try to make a comeback in the following year, ending the season on No.10. Last year, however, she wasn’t even featured in the rankings due to her doping ban.

An account keeping track of Romanian players’ ranking stats had featured Halep, alongside compatriots Sorana Cîrstea and Irina Begu. While both of them will finish this year under the top 100 on the WTA list, Halep’s case is completely opposite. The two-time Grand Slam champion is at No.879! Reflecting on this drastic fall, she wrote “A bit far this year”. This year, she made a return with the Hong Kong Open in October, but was eliminated early in the first round against China’s Yue Yang. Since then she’s not played any match. As a result, she will end 2024 being No. 879 in the world.

Of course, Simona would like to forget this phase as quickly as possible when she steps on the court next year. Also, because she’s gone through a lot during her time away from tennis when she struggled emotionally.

When Simona Halep remembered her difficult time after getting suspended

Earlier this year, in July, the Romanian tennis star sat down in an interview with We Are Tennis. While talking about the challenges she faced while being away from the sport, Halep said, “The empty part is the break that I had for two years. It came with many negative things: mentally, exhaustion, body issues because I stayed so much. Now it’s really tough to recover the time I lost.”

The ban affected her on a mental level as well, given the fact that she was one of the top-ranked players. “I struggled emotionally, I struggled mentally, and I’m still struggling. I didn’t expect to be so difficult the comeback, and even if I won, it was everything cleared, still stays a little bit on my head,” said the 32-year-old.

As if the suspension period wasn’t enough, she also got a knee injury. It further hampered her chances to play consistently in 2024 even after getting a clearance from ITIA to play tennis in July. In an Instagram post, dated July 19, she wrote, “For a few months now, I have been struggling with a knee injury. It’s an injury I have never had before and it has been a tough one to manage, with the pain persisting… I have decided to take the time needed to recover properly, rather than training and playing through pain.”

Looking forward, however, Simon Halep will now try to leave the negative phase behind. Her only goal will be to make a big impact in 2025. Do you think she will be able to regain her lost glory in the next season? Let us know in the comments below.