Career Milestones
Stepping Stones: Simona Halep's path to the top
Look back on key moments from two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 Simona Halep's career so far.
01
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Simona Halep was a former junior World No.1, and defeated compatriot Elena Bogdan to lift the Roland Garros girls' trophy in 2008; the following year she claimed her first Top 100 win over Angelique Kerber at the 2009 Saint-Raphaël ITF W50.
Photo by Getty
02
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Spring 2010 saw Halep qualify for her first WTA main draws, reaching the Marbella quarterfinals on her debut and in her third three weeks later defeating Patty Schnyder en route to her maiden final in Fes, which she lost 6-4, 6-2 to Iveta Benesova.
Photo by GEPA Pictures/Matthias Hauer
03
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Halep came through qualifying to make her Grand Slam main draw debut at Roland Garros 2010, where she lost 7-5, 6-1 in the first round to eventual finalist Samantha Stosur, and she would break the Top 100 in July that year.
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04
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Halep's first Grand Slam wins came at the 2011 Australian Open, where she defeated Anne Kremer and Alisa Kleybanova to reach the third round, losing at that stage to Agnieszka Radwanska.
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05
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2011 saw Halep begin to threaten big names, taking her first Top 20 scalp in Toronto over Svetlana Kuznetsova and her first Top 10 win in a 6-2, 7-5 first-round upset of Li Na at the US Open - cracking the Top 50 as a result.
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06
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A first-round upset of Jelena Jankovic was the springboard to Halep's first Premier final run at Brussels 2012, but a 7-5, 6-0 loss to Agnieszka Radwanska there dropped the Romanian to three straight-set losses in her first three career finals.
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07
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A semifinal run at Rome 2013, featuring a maiden Top 5 scalp in the second round over Agnieszka Radwanska as well as wins against Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic, was a harbinger of a 22-year-old Halep finding a new level.
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08
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Playing her fourth career final, Halep captured her maiden title at Nurnberg 2013, defeating Lucie Safarova and Andrea Petkovic in the last two rounds.
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09
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An unleashed Halep began to rack up title after title on every surface in 2013, lifting trophies in 's-Hertogenbosch and Budapest before winning her first Premier event in New Haven with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Petra Kvitova in the final.
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10
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Between May and November 2013, Halep compiled a 47-8 win-loss record, triumphed in six straight finals and made her first major last 16 at the US Open, ending the year with titles in Moscow and the Sofia Tournament of Champions to finish as World No.11.
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11
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Halep began 2014 by continuing her upwards trajectory: her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open put her inside the Top 10, and the Doha title - her seventh straight victorious final - lifted her into the Top 5.
Photo by Getty
12
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Halep's Grand Slam final debut happened at Roland Garros 2014, where she ousted Sloane Stephens, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Andrea Petkovic before pushing eventual champion Maria Sharapova all the way in a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 classic.
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13
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Halep continued to do a stellar job of backing up her breakthrough 2013, reaching the 2014 Wimbledon semifinals and coming runner-up at the WTA Finals to Serena Williams, climbing to a year-end position of World No.3.
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14
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Halep captured the first Premier Mandatory title of her career at Indian Wells 2015, defeating Karolina Pliskova and Jelena Jankovic en route.
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15
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Over the next few years, Halep embedded herself at the top of the game, winning back-to-back Madrid titles in 2016 and 2017 - defeating Kristina Mladenovic in a classic final in the latter - to take her title haul to 15.
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16
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A second Roland Garros final followed in 2017 - but despite leading by 6-4, 3-0 and then by 3-1 in the final set, Halep fell to the unseeded 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
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17
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Halep would nonetheless make it to World No.1 in October 2017 after reaching another pair of finals in Cincinnati and Beijing, despite losing to Garbiñe Muguruza and Caroline Garcia respectively in each.
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18
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Halep displayed phenomenal fight to reach a third major final at the 2018 Australian Open, saving match points against Lauren Davis and Angelique Kerber - but was denied the trophy yet again in another epic final by Caroline Wozniacki 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4.
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19
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Halep's long-awaited taste of Grand Slam glory finally arrived at Roland Garros 2018, where she defeated three major champions - Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza and Sloane Stephens - in the final three rounds.
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20
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Halep's 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Stephens in the Roland Garros final solidified her grip on the World No.1 ranking, which she would not relinquish until January 2019; so far, she has racked up 64 weeks at the summit.
Photo by Getty
21
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A second Grand Slam title, and 19th overall, came at Wimbledon 2019, where Halep delivered a stunning performance to defeat Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the final - becoming the first ever Romanian champion in SW19.
Photo by Getty
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