Halep was a hugely popular first-time Grand Slam champion, well-liked in the dressing room and within the sport in general for her groundedness and apparent lack of ego. Her desperation to win a major was well known and after Halep won in Paris, Martina Navratilova joked: “It wasn’t a monkey off her back; this was an 800lb gorilla.”

Two-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1 Simona Halep has retired from tennis. The Romanian announced her decision at the Transylvania Open in Cluj, Romania on Tuesday after losing her first-round match against Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1.

Two-time major champion Simona Halep announced her decision to retire from tennis on Tuesday after losing a match at a tournament in her home country of Romania. It was Halep's first match since October as she's been dealing with knee and shoulder pain that caused her to back out of the Australian Open last month.