“No one said this was going to be easy” - Simona Halep remains positive despite comeback being derailed by injury in Paris

Simona Halep is charting her comeback after being allowed to play tennis again in the aftermath of her doping violation. Her comeback got derailed as she suffered an injury mid-match at Trophee Clarins, a WTA 125 tournament in France.

Halep was suspended from tennis due to traces of Roxadustat being found in her blood. She was suspended for a period of four years. However, she contested the ruling and got respite as her sentence was shortened to 9 months.

The Romanian returned to professional at the 2024 Miami Open, being awarded a wildcard. She lost to Paula Badosa in her first match back in a three-setter encounter. The former World No. 1 pulled out of the Madrid Open due to a lack of competitive ability.

Halep chose to play at a WTA 125 event in Paris after being awarded a wildcard. However, her comeback trail hit a roadblock as she got injured in the first round against Mccartney Kessler at 7-5, 2-3 up.

The Romanian took to X( formerly Twitter) and wrote that she experienced knee pain and hence could not continue. She added that the knee pain had been lingering since the Miami Open.

"Well, yesterday didn’t go as I hoped on court. The knee pain that has been lingering since Miami came back and unfortunately I couldn’t continue. It’s not the way I would have liked to spend my time in Paris, but no one said this comeback was going to be easy," Halep wrote.

The former Wimbledon champion said that she would rest and continue to work hard. She also thanked fans for their support.

"I will rest and then keep working and keep believing in my journey. Thank you to those of you supporting me, I see your messages and they mean the world to me," she wrote.

Simona Halep denied French Open wildcard despite being a former Champion

Simona Halep at the 2018 French Open

The French Open wildcard list had a lot of surprises, including snubbing former Grand Slam champions like Emma Raducanu, Caroline Wozniacki, and Dominic Thiem but the biggest surprise was not giving a wildcard to 2018 French Open champion Simona Halep.

Wildcards on the women's side have gone to six French, one Australian, and one American player. The qualifying wildcards(eight) have been awarded to French players. Simona Halep, being ranked 1149, would not be able to get into the qualifiers without a wildcard.

Halep emphatically lifted the trophy at Roland Garros defeating Sloane Stephens in a comeback win 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. She reached finals at the French Open in 2014 and 2017, losing to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko, respectively.