Simona Halep fires coaches & decides to go solo, says she wants to "take responsibility and develop as a person"

Former World No. 1 Simona Halep has decided to part ways with her coaches Adrian Marcu and Daniel Dobre just days after her fourth-round exit at the 2022 Australian Open.

During their collaboration, Halep reached the final of the 2021 Transylvania Open and bagged her 23rd career title at the Melbourne Summer Set last month.

She joined hands with Romanians Marcu and Dobre last year after terminating a six-year long partnership with Australian coach Darren Cahill. Daniel Dobre had also assumed coaching duties for her back in 2019, when Cahill left for a temporary sabbatical to spend time with his family.

The Romanian went on to win her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon that year under Dobre's tutelage.

In an interview with Treizecizero, the World No. 23 revealed that she will not be looking for another coach for the time being and wants to take sole responsibility for herself going forward.

"I confirm that I broke up with Mr. Marcu and Mr. Dobre, but I would not want to discuss why I chose that," the World No. 23 said. "We didn't argue. Nothing like that. We are and will remain friends. That's how I felt it was better for me. I don't have a coach and I'm not looking at the moment. It's a period in which I want to take responsibility and develop as a person".

Simona Halep at the 2022 Australian Open

Simona Halep's announcement gave rise to several speculations about the potential name that could get added to her entourage. Multiple Polish and Romanian news outlets claimed that the 30-year-old had reached out to 2020 Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek's former coach Piotr Sierzputowski.

Halep, however, explicitly denied any such claims and said she had not spoken to the Polish coach.

"It's false with the Polish coach, I never talked to him", she said.

The two-time Major winner revealed that she will be traveling to the Middle East later this month with a sparring partner from Patrick Mouratoglou's tennis academy. She further expressed her wish to train at the academy in the future.

"I'm going to go to his (Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams' coach) academy and train. I really want to go, because I've never been to an academy before", the Romanian added.

Simona Halep returns to Middle Eastern swing after two years

Simona Halep won the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Simona Halep will be back in action this month at the 2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, a WTA 500 event commencing on February 14. She will then travel to Doha, Qatar for a WTA 1000 tournament starting on February 20.

Having been sidelined last year due to injuries, the Romanian will be competing in the Middle East for the first time since 2020. She is a two-time champion in Dubai (2015, 2020) and lifted the trophy once in Doha in 2014.