The 21st century
Romania · born Constanța, 1991 · right-handed · Wimbledon champion 2019
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6-2, 6-2
2019 Wimbledon final against Serena Williams
56
Minutes the 2019 final lasted
3
Unforced errors in the 2019 final
2
Grass titles: Rosmalen 2013, Wimbledon 2019
64
Weeks as world No. 1
Born in Constanța in 1991, Halep turned professional in 2006 and broke through in 2013, when she won her first WTA titles in Nuremberg and Rosmalen in consecutive weeks. She won 24 singles titles, including two majors: the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. She lost three other major finals, at Roland Garros in 2014 and 2017 and Melbourne in 2018. She first became world No. 1 on 9 October 2017 and held the ranking for 64 weeks. After a positive test at the 2022 US Open she received a four-year ban; in March 2024 the Court of Arbitration for Sport found a contaminated supplement the likely cause and cut it to nine months, already served. She retired in February 2025 at the Transylvania Open.
| Wimbledon singles | Champion 2019 as the seventh seed; semi-finalist 2014 and 2022; quarter-finalist 2016 and 2017 |
|---|---|
| Final won | 2019: beat Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes, with three unforced errors to Williams' 25 |
| Other grass titles | Rosmalen 2013: beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-2 for her first grass title, a week after her first WTA title |
| Wimbledon defeats | Semi-finals: 2014 to Eugenie Bouchard, 2022 to Elena Rybakina. Quarter-finals: 2016 to Angelique Kerber, 2017 to Johanna Konta |
| Birmingham | Semi-finalist 2022 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Women's singles | |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 2013 | Women's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I'm very sure that was the best match of my life."
The person behind the player.
Rosmalen 2013
A week after winning her first WTA title on clay in Nuremberg, she reached the final on grass in Rosmalen against Kirsten Flipkens. At 5-4 up in the first set, she sat through a 75-minute rain delay, came back to hold serve, and won 6-4, 6-2. It was her first title on grass.
Source: Star TribuneConstanța, about 2001
Her mother's advice came early. "My mom said when I was 10 that if I want to do something in tennis I have to play in the final at Wimbledon," Halep said after winning it. When they met after the final, her mother could not speak: "She didn't say anything because she was crying."
Source: Scroll.inWimbledon 2019 · Final
Halep had won one of her ten previous matches against Serena Williams, who was chasing a 24th major title. On Centre Court Halep led 4-0 after 11 minutes and never let go, winning 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes with three unforced errors to Williams' 25.
Source: Sports MoleWimbledon 2019
At the start of the fortnight she had told people that one of her motivations was to win and become a lifetime member of the All England Club. A year later she was still savouring it: she had got to be a member of the club and wear the badge, she said, and was now part of its history.
Source: We Are TennisSummer 2020
When the 2020 Championships were cancelled, she found the bright side. "Since we could not, I will have an extra year as defending champion," she said, and looked forward to walking onto Centre Court with the title still hers in 2021.
Source: We Are TennisFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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