The 2021 season has been far from ideal for Simona Halep so far. While the Romanian lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year, the rest of the season hasn’t been much to write home about.

A string of injury layoffs saw Halep miss the French Open and Wimbledon one after the other. In fact, she looked set to be the flag bearer for Romania at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. However, the calf injury which she picked up earlier this year refrained her from doing so.

After crashing out of the National Bank Open earlier today, Halep revealed she didn’t watch the Wimbledon and Olympics.

Simona Halep admits she paid a “lack of attention” during the Wimbledon and Olympics

After injuries saw her miss a majority of the season, Halep returned to compete in the ongoing National Bank Open. The Romanian came into the tournament as the #6 seed. However, she suffered a shock exit in the Round of 32 after losing to unseeded American Danielle Collins.

Despite winning the first set comprehensively, Halep lost the match 6-2, 4-6, 4-6. This compounded to her woes in 2021 after moving out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2014 earlier this year. After her loss, Halep spoke about the tournaments she missed.

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She admitted the pain of missing Wimbledon and the subsequent Olympics saw her avoid watching both tournaments with her full attention. She said, “Honestly I didn’t watch. Just a few balls, few games. But I didn’t pay attention. It was too painful to watch the matches. When you are injured, you feel sad and disappointed. It’s not really good, in my opinion, to stay and watch matches.”

“Still Far From My Level”: Simona Halep Skeptical Regarding Her Performance at National Bank Open 2021

Can Halep salvage her season in Flushing Meadows?

Although the Romanian has two Grand Slam victories, she hasn’t reached the final of the US Open. The 2015 US Open, where she reached the semifinals, is her best performance at Flushing Meadows.

In addition, the rise of stars like Ashleigh Barty combined with hard court favorites like Naomi Osaka make the Romanian’s challenge tougher in Flushing Meadows. However, the World No. 13 brings big-match experience to the US Open. Hence, a fit Halep cannot be discounted from mounting a serious challenge to clinch her third Grand Slam title.

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