Serena Williams explained what was key to approach when facing Simona Halep.
On Tuesday, the Romanian announced her retirement from tennis in front of her home fans after losing at the Winners’ Open in Cluj-Napoca.
Despite returning to the WTA Tour in 2024 18 months after receiving a ban for a positive drug test, Halep could not quite rediscover her best level.
Therefore, Halep decided to hang up her racket and bring a very impressive career to a disappointing end.
The finest moment of Simona Halep’s career came in the 2019 Wimbledon final.
She took on Serena Williams the right to lift the Venus Rosewater dish, in what was their 11th match against each other, and claimed a straight sets win to claim the title.
Post-match Williams, who lost to Halep just twice in 12 meetings, was asked how she approaches each of her matches against her fellow former World number one.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion said: “I think the biggest key with our matches is the loss that I had. I never forgot it.
“She played unbelievable. That makes me know that level she played at, she can get there again. So I have to be better than that.”
