Simona Halep has officially bowed out of tennis after taking part in a retirement ceremony in Romania.
A packed stadium in Cluj-Napoca watched WTA legend Halep say goodbye to the sport, with a handful of other icons joining her at the exhibition.
World number eight Elina Svitolina and her ATP husband Gael Monfils were both involved, along with her longtime coaches Darren Cahill and Daniel Dobre.
The two-time Grand Slam champion has since taken to social media to celebrate the event, with Halep now receiving a brief message from fellow legend Boris Becker.
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Boris Becker messages Simona Halep after retirement event
Halep wrote: “Having so many of you by my side at my retirement event and feeling your support so close once again was simply incredible.
“I read your messages and comments, and all the love you send me is truly overwhelming. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
Sharing that post on X, Becker wrote: “Have a nice retirement Simo and congratulations for your incredible career!”
She did indeed enjoy an incredible career, one that will live long in the memory of many tennis fans and for which Halep deserves huge credit.
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It was an emotional evening in Romania for Halep, who won 24 WTA titles and climbed to number one in the world rankings during her stunning career.
She won 580 matches and lost 243, helping her earn prize money of $40,236,618.
The Romanian icon reached five Grand Slam finals in total, losing her first three before recovering to win her final two.
Those major titles arrived at the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019 thanks to final wins over Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams respectively.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2014 | French Open | Clay | Maria Sharapova | 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 4–6 |
| Loss | 2017 | French Open | Clay | Jelena Ostapenko | 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2018 | Australian Open | Hard | Caroline Wozniacki | 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 4–6 |
| Win | 2018 | French Open | Clay | Sloane Stephens | 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 2019 | Wimbledon | Grass | Serena Williams | 6–2, 6–2 |
Fittingly, her farewell event in Cluj-Napoca was played on a half-green, half-orange court to commemorate the successes, overseen by WTA chair umpire Kader Nouni.
Now 34, her last official match on the WTA Tour came at the 2025 Transylvania Open, when she lost her opener to Lucia Bronzetti.
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