What Simona Halep says about her participation in the Olympic Games in Paris: “I would really like to, but there are minimal chances”

The tennis player Simona Halep declared, on Monday, upon her return to the country, after participating in Miami in her first tournament since the lifting of the doping sanction, that she would very much like to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris, but the chances are minimal, because she has to climb into the first 60-70 places of the WTA ranking in a short time, reports Agerpres.

“I would very much like to be able to qualify, but, from what I understand, there are minimal chances. Playing at the Olympics in Paris would be great, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. There are minimal chances, because I don’t have a ranking and I have to be in the first 60-70, something like that”, she said.

Halep mentioned that she enjoyed her return to the WTA circuit and that she missed the fans.

“I felt very good, it was a new experience for me as well. I have had a lot of positive things from people, a lot of appreciation. I was glad I made this decision to go to the tournament. I really liked it when I entered the arena, it was an enormous joy. It was as if all the things from the last period were gone and at one point I felt as if I hadn’t even left the field. It was a nice feeling. I missed everything about tennis. I missed the fans, the noise they make on the pitch, in a positive way. The way I support myself is special. The farewell with my colleagues from the circuit was very pleasant, everyone appreciated me, everyone was happy that I came back. I didn’t expect it to be so good, but I thank them for being by my side. I still have to work on everything. I have to get to work and be very professional. Even more than before, because I’m an age. And the fact that I stayed for so long will hurt, I think,” she said.

The player got over the shoulder pain felt during the match with Paula Badosa from Miami: “It was just normal fatigue after not playing for so long. And we played at a very high level this match. I felt the pain even after the match, it was hard for me for about 2-3 days”.

Halep will prepare in Bucharest with her new coach, Carlos Martinez

In the next period, the Romanian will train in Bucharest with her new coach, Carlos Martinez.

“I have always admired him for the way he works on the field and for the results achieved with the athletes that I have always liked. Kuznetsova is one of my favorites. I talked to Darren (Cahill, ed.) about the coaches and I came to the conclusion that I want to try a period with Carlos. Here we will do the trial period, so he will come to Bucharest. Darren is a special man, he is my friend. I am very happy that I gained a very, very valuable person from this career. He is always by my side and that matters the most”, she explained.

Simona Halep doesn’t know for now what will be the next tournament she will play in: “Charleston starts now, very quickly, so no… I will stay to train in Bucharest. I will try to recover here. We discussed something (no – about participating in the Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome tournaments), but nothing has been decided yet. I’m waiting for Carlos, I want to talk to him before I make a decision”.

The tennis player says that she “doesn’t know how much longer she will play”, but that she “will do it for pleasure”

“I am confident in myself as a person, but as a tennis player I still have a lot to work on. It’s going to be hard to get back to where I want to be. But as a person I am much better. I no longer felt the pressure of the tournament, it was just the pleasure of coming back. It doesn’t matter what I do from now on, I’ll play for fun. I don’t know how much longer I will play. But I won what I had to win and what was right to win, and that gave me confidence as a person,” she said.

Regarding the Danish Carolina Wozniacki, the one who declared that athletes who tested positive should not receive wild cards, Halep said: “I didn’t even think about this topic anymore. I can only repeat that they should read the decision better. And if he doesn’t understand it, let it be translated for him”.

On March 20, tennis player Simona Halep was defeated by Spain’s Paula Badosa, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Miami (Florida), in her comeback match in the professional circuit after the reduction of the sanction in his doping case.

Simona Halep was suspended for a period of four years for doping, on September 12, 2023, by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), for two separate violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP). The CAS ruled unanimously on 5 March that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF’s independent tribunal be reduced to nine months, commencing on 7 October 2022 (the date from which it was provisionally suspended), which period has expired on July 6, 2023.

Publisher: BC

Download the Digi24 app and find out the most important news of the day