“I Miss the Voice Next to Me” – Simona Halep

The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep arrives for the Californian desert tournament in the United States and the 2015 Indian Wells champion will open against the Czech tennis player, Barbora Strycova in the round-of-64 of the BNP Paribas Open. Last year, she concluded the season on the apex position of the WTA ladder and simultaneously parted ways with her coach Darren Cahill. With Cahill in her team, Simona Halep clinched her first major in Paris.

After her defeat in the Australian Open 2019 to Serena Williams, she appointed the Belgian, Thierry Van Cleemput in her team and they worked together for a very short period of time. At present, the World Number two tennis player, Simona Halep isn’t looking for any coaching aid.

“In this moment, I’m not asking anyone,” Simona Halep mentioned at the BNP Paribas Open. “I’m just chilling. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I’m not asking anyone and I’m not in conversation with anyone. I miss the voice next to me, I miss the advice. I miss the fact that someone is always behind you to give you advice. But the rest is pretty similar. I’m professional and I’m trying to do the [right] things even if the coach is not there.”

“I will tell you a story because it’s funny,” she said. “In Dubai, before the Tsurenko match, I was so tired. During the night I couldn’t sleep very well. I woke at 8:00 am and I was dead. I changed the alarm and I wrote to the boys that we will meet at 10:30 am for breakfast. So I slept another two hours, I dressed for the match, I ate breakfast, and I went straight to the match. If I had a coach, that is impossible,” Halep said, laughing. “At that moment I told the boys I said sometimes it’s good without a coach,” Simona Halep continued.

Till now in the tennis season 2019, Simona Halep has simply experienced upsets in the tournaments that she has played. She lost to Elise Mertens in the final in Doha and she was trounced by Belinda Bencic in Dubai. Nevertheless, the Romanian pride of tennis is confident with herself for the American Masters event. “I felt well, even at the beginning of the year in Melbourne,” Simona Halep said. “But I felt that I didn’t have enough matches coming to those big tournaments. I still have that feeling, that I need more official matches, but I feel good. I feel that the level is there and I’m confident. If the confidence is there then everything is calm in your life. I’m healthy and confident because I played well in Dubai and Doha. So I’m happy.”