Face of Nation : Some people would give their right arm to win Wimbledon.But Simona Halep has literally sacrificed body parts to reach the top of tennis.
As a promising teenage player who had already won the French Open junior title, the Romanian made the life-changing decision to have breast reduction surgery.
Her 34DD chest was getting in the way of her sporting dream so she went under the knife at the age of 17.
Halep, who will face seven-time champion Serena Williams in Saturday’s Wimbledon final, said the move to a 34C was a game-changer.“My ability to react quickly was worse and my breasts made me uncomfortable,” Halep said.
“I didn’t like them in my everyday life, either. I would have gone for surgery even if I hadn’t been a sportswoman.”Halep had her first chance to land a major in Paris in 2014 but lost in the final to Maria Sharapova.
Despite climbing to No 2 in the world rankings, she was unable to reach another slam final until 2017.
Her big chance again came in Paris and she blew it. Leading by a set and a break against unseeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, she lost the match and the opportunity to become world No 1.
Halep did rise to the top of the pile later in 2017 but it came with the stigma of having achieved it without winning a Slam.
At the 2018 Australian Open, she went all the way to the final but in the battle of the slamless wonders, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki.Halep finally got the monkey off her back in Paris later that year, winning her first major title by overcoming Sloane Stephens.
Another quirky fact surrounding the Romanian 27-year-old is her social media accounts.Halep only follows two people on Twitter — her Australian coach Darren Cahill and snooker star Mark Selby.
She explained why after beating Svitolina. “I apologise. I say that I have no idea how you play snooker,” she said. “But I appreciate (Selby). He’s been in Romania a few times. I met him. Also I have a snooker ball signed from him. That’s why I follow him.”
