In her recent match at the 2022 Roland Garros against Quinwen Zheng, former world number 1, Simona Halep experienced a panic attack what she also admitted later on.
Simona Halep dominated Qinwen Zheng in the first set, but then dropped the next two sets 2-6 1-6, while also getting a medical timeout. She later said that she experienced a panic attack on the court, which made it difficult for her to concentrate. After the match she sent out a message to her fans, in which she addressed recent occurrences, saying:
"I’m writing down these words because I feel like sharing with those who care. As always, I feel such great support from my fans, and I’d like to say thank you to all of you! You are great! You are supporting me unconditionally, and this means a lot! I’m generally not a dramatic person, and I hope I don’t sound like this by writing these words now."
"The last 18 months were very tough, emotional, and physical. After losing in Doha, my message to the people very close to me was that I could not do it anymore, that I was done with tennis. But somehow, I got the fire back and started to feel the love for tennis again, and I decided to work hard and make significant changes."
"I am very proud of myself for all I have done lately. I could only do this with Patrick’s help, and I want to thank him for being by my side. The results are tough of course because the expectations are high. I’m a grand slam winner, I’m a former number 1, and I am expected to win."
"But nothing should be taken for granted. To be able to touch the highest mountain in tennis again, I need time and a lot of hard work. It is not my personality to give up, so tomorrow is a new day and I'll be ready to start again!"
"By the way, now I know how it is to have a panic attack; not easy to handle, but I’m over it now, and I am smiling already!"
After the events in the French capital, many showed support to the experienced Romanian but not the head coach of the Polish Tennis Federation, Tomasz Iwański. According to the Polish journalist, Damian Kust, the coach laughed off Halep's panic attack, stating: "What should I do and how much should I pay my surgeon if he gets a panic attack during my operation?"
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