The 2019 Simona Halep tennis season officially began on 8 January 2019 at the Sydney International. Simona Halep entered the season as the No. 1 ranked player in the world.[2]
Year in detail
Early hard court season and Australian Open
Sydney International
Halep started season playing at Sydney International as the top seed. She lost to No. 15 in the world at the time Ashleigh Barty in two straight sets, extending her losing streak at five.[3]
Australian Open
Halep's next tournament was Australian Open. In the first round she beat Kaia Kanepi in three sets.[4]
. This match marked her first win since 2018 Western & Southern Open. In the second round, she faced Sofia Kenin, also winning in three sets. In the next rounds, she would play the Williams sisters. She won against Venus Williams in straight sets,[5] but then, she lost to Serena Williams in three tight sets. In the end of the tournament, Naomi Osaka replaced her at rankings and peaked at No. 3, after Petra Kvitová.[6]
Fed Cup World Group Quarterfinal
After win in World Group play-offs vs Switzerland last year, team Romania came back on World Group, since 2016. In quarterfinals, they met team Czech Republic, in Ostrava. She led 2–0 in singles rubbers, defeating Kateřina Siniaková and Karolína Plíšková.[7] With these wins and the doubles rubber win by Monica Niculescu and Irina-Camelia Begu, they qualified for the first time, since 1973, in the semifinals of Fed Cup.[8]
Qatar Ladies Open
Next tournament for Halep was Qatar Ladies Open, where she was the top seed and she had first round bye. En route to the final, she defeated Lesia Tsurenko, Julia Görges, and Elina Svitolina, where she trailed in the third set and, then, won five games in a row.[9] In the final, she faced Elise Mertens. She lost in three sets, giving Mertens her first Premier title. This was the first final of the season for Halep.
After the run of Indian Wells, her next tournament was Miami Open. In the second round, she crushed Taylor Townsend in straight sets. In the third round, she defeated Polona Hercog in three tough sets. Halep won against Venus Williams and Qiang Wang, in fourth round and quarterfinal, respectively. She was in contention of regaining the no.1 spot by reaching the finals, after Osaka's defeat in the third round. In the semifinal, she faced Karolína Plíšková, losing in straight sets. After this tournament, she remained no.2.
European clay court season
Fed Cup World Group Semifinal
Her first clay-court event of the season was Fed Cup Semifinal. There, Romanian Fed Cup Team faced France in Rouen. In the singles rubber, Halep defeated Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia. At the doubles rubber, she played instead of Irina-Camelia Begu, withdrawing due to ankle injury, with Monica Niculescu. Anyway, after taking the first set, they lost, giving to France a ticket to the Fed Cup final.
Madrid Open
Italian Open
French Open
English grass court season
Eastbourne International
Wimbledon
Halep won the 2019 Wimbledon Championships defeating Serena Williams 6–2, 6–2.
All matches
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.