Former world No.1 Simona Halep is once again searching for a new coach after her most recent trial with a new mentor failed to take off.
The reigning French Open champion had recently agreed to work alongside Thierry Van Cleemput. A Belgian coach who has previously worked with David Goffin, as well as other players from his home country. The two meet during the Australian Open, where Cleemput ended his collaboration with Goffin. Following the tournament, the Belgian flew to Romania to talk further with Halep before a trial was put in place.
During an interview with WTA Insider, Halep confirmed that she will no longer be working with Cleemput. Their brief time together was during last week’s Doha Open. Halep reached the final of the tournament before falling to Elise Mertens in three sets.
“So we tried for one week and it’s finished,” Halep told WTA Insider. “We decided to stop because we are not a good fit together. He’s a good person, a very nice person, but on court the chemistry is not there.”
“We couldn’t fit each other tennis-wise. Personally, he is a very nice person. We are friends.”
Halep has been without a permanent coach on the tour since the departure of Darren Cahill towards the end of 2018. Cahill has been part of Halep’s team for three years and guided her to three grand slam finals under his watch. He stepped down from the position due to family reasons after saying he would take a ‘12 month hiatus’ from coaching.
“I can say that I am not looking [for a coach] at the moment,” Halep said. “I have my team, I have my hitting partner with me. I feel good like this and I will take my time. I know I said that when I started the year and then I changed my mind because I felt I need a coach. Still now I feel like I need that freedom, just to stay and just to play with what I learned from Darren for years.”
“Now I feel more relaxed, I feel more chilled. The priorities are changing a little bit. I’m more responsible for myself and I try to solve my own problems, on court and off court.”
So far this season the 27-year-old has a win-loss record of 8-3 on the tour (including Fed Cup). Besides being runner-up in Doha, she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before losing to Serena Williams. On Monday Halep will rise back up to No.2 in the WTA rankings.
“I play with freedom, because my pressure is off now,” Halep told reporters last week. “I have won a Grand Slam, I have been No. 1 in the world. My goals are realized. I just try to enjoy more the time, which I do have and I feel much better. I’m more relaxed. I’m not thinking about the result. I’m thinking just that I want to win the match I play. So that makes me a little bit relieved.”
Halep will return to action at the Dubai Tennis Championships, which will get underway on Monday. She is seeded third in the draw behind Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova.
