[15] She won more than two matches at an event just twice, the first at the Morocco Open where she made the semifinals in April and the second at the Brussels Open where she made the final in May. In Australia, she finished runner-up to Arantxa Rus at Nottinghill and then lost to Australian Jessica Moore in the semifinals of the Australian Open. 1 for the first time, taking the ranking from Muguruza. 8, Caroline Wozniacki and No. In 2013, she was WTA’s Most Improved Player. This site uses cookies to provide you the best usage experience. [111], Halep did not win any titles on clay in the lead-up to the French Open, with her best result being a runner-up finish at the Italian Open to Elina Svitolina in a rematch of the previous year's final. 15 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round. 1 ranking in late February. [15] Nonetheless, she began to dominate the lower level tournaments, winning her first three WTA titles at the International level across June and July. 8, Jelena Janković, where she was upset by No. She has two siblings. She can hit winners both cross-court and down-the-line. [62] In the second round of the French Open, she was upset by Mirjana Lučić-Baroni for the second time in the last three majors. [17][18] Halep's best result of the year after the US Open was a final at the $100K Torhout Ladies Open,[19] which helped her finish the season with a year-end ranking of No. [150][152] In 2014, Romania swept their group of Hungary, Great Britain, and Latvia. She uses her speed and anticipation to set up powerful shots rather than just extend points. Halep would break Kerber two service games later on her second match point of the game. She began playing more higher-level events once she finished her junior career, reaching a $50K final in 2009 in Makarska. [24] Despite a loss to Carla Suárez Navarro in the next round,[25] this result put Halep in the top 50 for the first time. [71] Halep lost the first match of the tie to Karolína Plíšková, despite taking the first set. 1 in bold, as of week of August 24, 2020, WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year, List of Grand Slam women's singles champions, List of WTA number 1 ranked tennis players, List of Grand Slam girls' singles champions, "Simona a explicat cum se pronunta corect numele ei de familie", "Simona Halep: aromânca de care este mândră România întreagă", "Cumnata Simonei Halep este fata lui Iorghi Nicolae, de la formaţia Kavalla", "Părinţii Simonei Halep se împrumută la bănci pentru ca ea să facă performanţă", "Simona Halep enjoys rapid rise up the rankings", "10 ani de la victoria junioarei Simona Halep la Roland Garros. 1 and the first Romanian player to win a Wimbledon singles title. Halep defeated compatriot Elena Bogdan in three sets in the final to become the second Romanian girl to win a junior Grand Slam singles title after Mariana Simionescu won the 1974 French Open. Simona eats everything in moderation. Begu and Monica Niculescu then won the decisive doubles rubber to win the tie for Romania.