Newsletter | Simona Halep retires and remembering Matt Doyle

Former world no.1 Simona Halep announced her retirement from the game while Irish tennis mourns the loss of Matt Doyle

By Stephen Higgins | 10th February 2025

Simona Halep at Wimbledon
Simona Halep leaves the game having been one of the best players of her era | Crosscourt View

In somewhat of a surprise, Simona Halep announced her retirement from the sport last week after a first round loss at the Transylvania Open. The 33-year-old lost 1-6 1-6 to Lucia Bronzetti in front of her home fans and informed them of the decision in a post match interview:

“I’m making this decision with my soul. I’ve always been realistic with myself and with my body. Where I probably was, it’s very hard to get there and I know what it means to get there. That’s why I wanted to come here today in Cluj to play in front of you and say goodbye,” said the former world no.1.

After the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her four-year doping ban for a contaminated supplement to nine months, the Romanian struggled to recover from a knee injury upon her return in March 2024 and only managed five matches last year.

Halep tested positive for the prohibited substance Roxadustat, which is legitimately used to treat anemia but banned by WADA, at the 2022 US Open. She argued that the substance was not taken intentionally and had been in her system due to a contaminated supplement (Keto MCT).

In September 2023, Halep was suspended for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, but this was later reduced by CAS where the tribunal said that with the balance of probabilities, the positive test was due to a contaminated product and that Halep “had no significant fault or negligence.”

Relieved by the CAS decision, the Romanian said on Instagram at the time that “the triumph of truth is a bittersweet vindication that, albeit delayed, is immensely gratifying.” The whole proceedings were a sombre end to what had been a fabulous career.

Always renowned for her incredible movement, consistency off the ground and one of the finest backhands the game has seen, Halep reached her peak under the guidance of Jannik Sinner’s current coach, Darren Cahill.

By 2015, she was established as a top player and had recently lost her first major final to Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros. The Romanian then joined forces with the Aussie in the summer of 2015 and they developed into one of the most effective and admired partnerships on tour.

In their period together, Halep made four more grand slam finals. She endured painful losses to Jelena Ostapenko (Roland Garros 2017) and Caroline Wozniacki (2018 Australian Open) before finally seizing her chances. A brave three-set victory over Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros 201 was followed by that famous 6-2 6-2 demolition of Serena Williams on Centre Court in 2019.

Halep leaves professional tennis having achieved almost everything in the game with 64 weeks as the world’s best player, 24 singles titles including the two grand slams, 45 top 10 wins and over $40 million in prize money.

Irish tennis said goodbye to a legendary figure over the weekend as the passing of Matt Doyle was announced at the age of 70.

Originally from California, Doyle had a grandfather from Cork and was able to gain an Irish passport in the early 80s. It was to Ireland’s great advantage as he combined with Sean Sorensen to propel the nation to their best ever Davis Cup results. In October 1982, the Irish beat Switzerland 4-1 at Fitzwilliam to reach the World Group of 1983.

The following year, Ireland famously played the USA team of John McEnroe at the RDS and there’s a nice retrospective of that glamour tie by Raf Diallo on RTÉ’s site. Doyle would finish having played 17 Davis Cup ties for Ireland with 27 victories across singles and doubles.

On tour, Doyle enjoyed a level of success that’s sadly alien to modern Irish players. Apart from a career high ranking inside the top 100, he won a title in Cologne, made the fourth round of the 1982 US Open, played at each of the grand slams, recorded victories over Guillermo Vilas, Roscoe Tanner and Kevin Curren, and battled with Jimmy Connors and Stefan Edberg.

After his career finished, Doyle became a successful coach and was President of the ATP from 1985 to 1987. He also opined on both tennis and golf - another sport he excelled at - for RTÉ.

A real legend of the sport in Ireland, there are warm tributes to him on Tennis Ireland’s Facebook page.