Simona Halep has opened up about her defeat to Qinwen Zheng at the French Open, which saw the Romanian lose the final two sets in Paris very heavily.
Expectations are always high when Halep plays at Roland-Garros. This is due to her run to the title back in 2018, as well as being the runner-up at the event in 2014 and 2017.
In truth, Halep was slightly out of sorts in her opening round in Paris against Natasja Mariana Schunk. Despite prevailing in three sets, there was a threat of an upset in the next round if the Romanian did not raise her level.
Halep looked to have put those doubts behind her after taking the first set 6-2 against Zheng. But things went completely wrong for the two-time Grand Slam champion after that. She lost the following two sets 2-6, 1-6.
However, Halep has revealed a specific and unfortunate reason for those struggles. The former world No. 1 said that she suffered from a panic attack, which significantly derailed her chances of winning.
"I played well at the beginning, had a break, then something happened and I lost the set. She (Zheng) played well. That was just a panic attack. It doesn't happen that much."
Halep then elaborated further on the situation. Although it was a terrible thing to go through, the Romanian is happy to be over it and wants to learn from the experience.
"I couldn't focus anymore. Now it's behind me and I can smile again. I will learn from this episode. It was overthinking. I was leading. There was no reason. But it happened. I have to accept it. It happens to everybody."
It is brave of Halep to speak so honestly about the subject. These athletes competing at the highest level of tennis are still human beings, and tough moments like that can happen to anyone.