Moments after being crowned the year-end No.1 at a special ceremony in Singapore, Simona Halep proudly said that 13 was her lucky number and with good reason.
She has rewritten the record books by becoming the first Romanian player to finish the season at the top of the WTA rankings and the 13th overall. Halep’s rise to No.1 haven’t been without its setbacks. Most notable was during the French Open final when she was leading Jelena Ostapenko by a set and a break before losing. In total, Halep has reached five WTA finals in 2017 with her best result being when she won the Madrid Open in May.
“I can say I had two difficult moments this year, one at the beginning of the year when I was injured about three months, I couldn’t play, and then I came back stronger.” Said Halep.
“Of course the final at French Open, I was really disappointed and very sad about that match. I came back stronger, as well, and I could just play better and better and to be No. 1 in the world in the end of the year.”
Summarising her year as ‘difficult and amazing,’ Halep never stopped believing that she could clinch the top spot. Despite only winning one match at the WTA Finals, the 26-year-old shuts down her season with a win-loss of 46-16. She has also claimed victories over five top-10 players. Including Johanna Konta twice, Karolina Pliskova and Jelena Ostapenko. It was the win over Ostapenko in Beijing that secured her No.1 position.
“I cannot say that I stopped believing that I can reach the No. 1 this year, because I had many chances, but of course I was a little bit disappointed after those moments that I had during the year.”
The 2018 challenge
Confirming that there will be no changes made to her coaching team during the off-season, next year Halep has her eyes set on a prize that has eluded her so so far in her career. Twice a French Open finalist, she will be bidding to end her trophy drought in the major events. A tough prospect given the fluidity of the women’s tour and the expected return of Serena Williams in January.
“Every tournament and every week, every day I can say is going to be a big challenge, starting now,” Halep said.
“I cannot be stressed about that. I just want to work harder to get better, because I need to do that, and we will see what is going to happen.
“I mean, in my opinion, it’s great what I have done until now, so I just want to (win) a grand slam.”
Learning from her mistakes of the past, the Romanian is under no illusion of how critical her off-season will be. For Halep, her focus remains on being free from injury and continue her run of consistency.
“I’m really happy that I could stay constant, which is the best thing, I think, for a player.” She explained. “And also that I’m fit. I have no problems now, no injuries. So I’m just trying to make the off-season better and to start the next year better.”
