One of the hardest working players and lovable personalities on the WTA Tour, Simona Halep is the epitome of passion and good vibes. As a young girl growing up in Romania, she had dreams of being a Grand Slam champion and gave her mind, body and soul to accomplish that dream. Simona now joins TopCourt to share her journey with you and teach you how to play more intelligent tennis, achieve your goals and love yourself in the process. Simona's one-of-a-kind lesson will inspire you to take control on the court and in your life.
What you can learn from Simona's class:
Technique: In Simona's TopCourt class, she teaches the techniques of her most dominant shots: the backhand and backhand slice. Simona's ability to change directions and hit a winning shot off of her backhand side strikes fear into her opponents. She also has been working tirelessly to implement the backhand slice into her game and teaches the fundamentals that she's actively working on to improve this shot. While known for her backhand, Simona's forehand can often be overlooked. Her TopCourt class also teaches you the fundamentals behind her versatile forehand, which is key to her point-building strategy.
Drills: Simona shares three personally chosen insightful drills in detail and shows examples of her performing the drills on-court so that you can implement them into your next practice. Each drill highlights a strength of Simona's versatile game. The first drill focuses on movement and accuracy. While she lacks the firepower that many of her opponents on the WTA Tour possess, she takes you through one of her favorite drills to help open the court and find your opponent's weakness.
Implementing a new shot into your arsenal requires repetition and confidence and the second drill she teaches is one that she uses every day to help gain the belief that she needs for her backhand slice. She hones in on the efficient movement, recovery and positioning after hitting your shot. For the third drill, Simona teaches you the tactics and a routine that will have you playing smarter points and give you the advantage over a stronger or more powerful opponent.
Stories: In a series of 7 'Episodes,' Simona shares personal stories about her life and tennis journey. The Romanian native talks about the discipline, passion and work ethic that came naturally to her even as a teenager. Simona shares her extreme dedication to her craft and the two critical decisions that exemplified that commitment. This work ethic on the court was matched with her desire to create a strong and healthy mental approach to her game, and she shares how her mentality helped her complete her junior career on a high note and gave her the confidence to stick to the plan.
Simona then speaks in detail about her professional career, where after three heartbreaking losses in the Grand Slam finals, she was undeterred and went right back to work. She shares how learning from those experiences prepared her to win her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, playing what she describes as her best match ever. In one episode, she opens up about her former coach Darren Cahill, who will always be an important figure in her life and how a moment at the 2017 Miami Open was a turning point in Simona's career and mental health journey thanks to him.
Lastly, she gives advice about dealing with high-pressure situations and how she has learned to overcome negative emotions in high-stress moments. In tennis and life, Simona tries to enjoy every moment and while her journey continues, so does her quest to love herself always, no matter what happens on the court.
