What do you think about Simona Halep?

[special700]

She should win the most improve player of the year. As a matter of fact, her name should be the only one on the list.

 

[special700]

On facebook, Simona almost doubled the number of likes in just 4 days.
Simo page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimonaHalepOfficial
The page is made by a fan mostly in Romanian but you can get the vibe there.
She made many of her countrymen proud. Its like a tidal wave
I am working hard on holding myself and not cross the lines of bragging and showing off. I am sure you can understand why it is like that. :blush:

She's your fav and you should brag about her. I sure as heck brag about my fav a 100 times over.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Judge for yourself.

 

[special700]

Judge for yourself.

Wow they were really large and I could see them causing her back pain because her body is not in porpotion to her breast size. I think she made a wise decision and if she did not make that decision she would not be able to play tennis because they would cause her to much back pain. But you know what 34DD is not that big in general, but she seems to be a small girl to be so busty. The irony of it all is that some women pay thousands of $ to have large breast. Life is truly hilarious.

 

[Si Si Simona]

Hi special700 and Kiu
Thanks for your welcome and the appreciation for my fav player.
I am really happy to just be on this forum because it looks the best of all 3 forums I found so far about women tennis. Not just the best but much better. The mood and the vibe here are way above other forums.

Kiu, no problems with you liking Sorana more. We all have our own preferences. Sorana is also ok in her own cute way. Shame that she cant be consistent and keep a high level, but still 22 in the world is not bad. Many girls would be very happy to be ranked 22.

 

[RJD11]

Six titles. More main-draw victories in one season than she had in her entire career. A rise from No. 47 to No. 11.

Simona Halep had no idea this was coming.

“I didn’t believe when I started this season that I could win six titles this year,” she said. “I just wanted to play more aggressive, to play more inside the court. I did well, and I want to keep this feeling for next year.”

One objective for 2014 is play better at the big tournaments, according to her manager, Ruzici, who believes Halep has top-five talent.

“Her goal was to be top 20 this year, and funny enough her goal for next year is to just stay top 20,” Ruzici said with a laugh. “She’s a very modest person, and she’s trying to play without any pressure as much as possible. I’m sure deep down in her mind she has deep ambitions.”


http://tennis.si.com/2013/11/06/simona-halep-wta-breakout-2013/?sct=tn_t2_a6

 

[tented]

Six titles. More main-draw victories in one season than she had in her entire career. A rise from No. 47 to No. 11.

Simona Halep had no idea this was coming.

“I didn’t believe when I started this season that I could win six titles this year,” she said. “I just wanted to play more aggressive, to play more inside the court. I did well, and I want to keep this feeling for next year.”

One objective for 2014 is play better at the big tournaments, according to her manager, Ruzici, who believes Halep has top-five talent.

“Her goal was to be top 20 this year, and funny enough her goal for next year is to just stay top 20,” Ruzici said with a laugh. “She’s a very modest person, and she’s trying to play without any pressure as much as possible. I’m sure deep down in her mind she has deep ambitions.”


http://tennis.si.com/2013/11/06/simona-halep-wta-breakout-2013/?sct=tn_t2_a6

That's a terrific article. It does a great job of summarizing her year. Thanks, RJD!

I especially like how she describes the Radwanska match in Rome as being a career-changer, in light of their AO match. I didn't see it, but maybe it's on YouTube.

 

[Si Si Simona]

Six titles. More main-draw victories in one season than she had in her entire career. A rise from No. 47 to No. 11.

Simona Halep had no idea this was coming.

“I didn’t believe when I started this season that I could win six titles this year,” she said. “I just wanted to play more aggressive, to play more inside the court. I did well, and I want to keep this feeling for next year.”

One objective for 2014 is play better at the big tournaments, according to her manager, Ruzici, who believes Halep has top-five talent.

“Her goal was to be top 20 this year, and funny enough her goal for next year is to just stay top 20,” Ruzici said with a laugh. “She’s a very modest person, and she’s trying to play without any pressure as much as possible. I’m sure deep down in her mind she has deep ambitions.”


http://tennis.si.com/2013/11/06/simona-halep-wta-breakout-2013/?sct=tn_t2_a6

Two modifications to this article:
1) She was ranked 64 before Rome and not 45, so the run up the rankings is more dramatic than what it says here. She was in danger to fall out of the top 100 just before Rome !
2) The goal was to get ranked 35 before the end of 13 in order to be seeded in the AO 14. Saying that the goal was 20 is just cosmetics and not true. Her previous coach (Mlendea) said that it was 35.

The article is missing a bit the fight, desire, and sacrifice that she made on the way to her success

 

[Si Si Simona]

That's a terrific article. It does a great job of summarizing her year. Thanks, RJD!

I especially like how she describes the Radwanska match in Rome as being a career-changer, in light of their AO match. I didn't see it, but maybe it's on YouTube.

I actually think its a false article but done very well as a media item (cosmetics)
The change started much earlier in her brain when she got rid of her previous coach and started "growing wings" on her own, not in one specific match against Aga. You have to do a serious "soul searching" when you take the road on your own and change your game in 180*
Imo, the article is too timid. I guess it suits that website style. The true story is how she fights and survives in hard 3 sets matches against Sam and Ana.
I am watching Simo for at least 2 years because I "felt something" about her character and her play, and she is now a different person than what she was this time last year. The difference is not a technical tennis issue (attack or defense), its much more than that.

 

[RJD11]

Judge for yourself.

Wow they were really large and I could see them causing her back pain because her body is not in porpotion to her breast size. I think she made a wise decision and if she did not make that decision she would not be able to play tennis because they would cause her to much back pain. But you know what 34DD is not that big in general, but she seems to be a small girl to be so busty. The irony of it all is that some women pay thousands of $ to have large breast. Life is truly hilarious.

Yes They, are large and in charge.

What does Simona say about them? ....this:


There was wide criticism of her decision to reduce her bust in order to improve her game. Fans petitioned her to reconsider her decision. She responded, saying, "It's the weight that troubles me. My ability to react quickly, my breasts make me uncomfortable when I play. I don’t like them in my everyday life, either. I would have gone for surgery even if I hadn’t been a sportswoman."[13] She also experienced back pain.[14] She later revealed her reduced bust size at the French Open in May 2010.[13] Since the surgery, she has moved up over 450 places in the world rankings.[14]

 

[Si Si Simona]

The character and brain enlargement made her what she is now, not the breast reduction.
The breast reduction was 4 years ago and until half a year ago her career was going no where.
I guess its much more appealing and popular to talk about breast reduction but that was not the "game changer".
The mental change made her be ranked 11 in the world with 6 titles in 6 months :exclamation:
Thats the change I talk about in my signature. If it was the surgery then it would have been just another boring story.
People focus on her surgery and I focus on her character

 

[RJD11]

The character and brain enlargement made her what she is now, not the breast reduction.
The breast reduction was 4 years ago and until half a year ago her career was going no where.
I guess its much more appealing and popular to talk about breast reduction but that was not the "game changer".
The mental change made her be ranked 11 in the world with 6 titles in 6 months :exclamation:
Thats the change I talk about in my signature. If it was the surgery then it would have been just another boring story.
People focus on her surgery and I focus on her character

Si Si: I see the reduction as a significant factor in her play.

There is a UTube vid of her playing on TF before the surgery

and you could see way those things bounced that they were a

hindrance to her game. After the procedure it stands to reason

it took some time for her to adjust her game and get used to the

physical change. This could account for the time gap

I'm also sure the other changes including a mental

one and newfound confidence also helped her become the player

she is now

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Hi,
I am not starting this thread to brag about her results. For me there is a much bigger reason that attracts me to her, and it would be interesting to see what you think about it.


What do you think?

The big reason attracted many to her; but it is no longer valid as she had a surgery
couple of years ago.

 

[Si Si Simona]

I see the reduction as a significant factor in her play.

Sorry but I disagree. I am her fan for about 2 years, and she was already moving just as fast and was hitting the ball the same way 2 years ago. She could still be ranked 64 or 100 if she didnt decide to take matters into her hands, leave her old coach, and switch her game style into attacking aggressive mood.
The physical change ended 2 years ago, not now. I remember seeing her beaten by Vika in Doha almost 2 years ago (Feb 12) and she was already fast and a shoots maker. But her mindset was bad and too defensive. The mental change is the reason we talk about her now. The physical change is just a fun subject and attracts the males but not the reason for her breakthrough. Its all in the head, not elsewhere

 

[the AntiPusher]

Judge for yourself.

[attachment=40]

Really remarkable courage by this young lady

 

[colleen66]

I see the reduction as a significant factor in her play.

Sorry but I disagree. I am her fan for about 2 years, and she was already moving just as fast and was hitting the ball the same way 2 years ago. She could still be ranked 64 or 100 if she didnt decide to take matters into her hands, leave her old coach, and switch her game style into attacking aggressive mood.
The physical change ended 2 years ago, not now. I remember seeing her beaten by Vika in Doha almost 2 years ago (Feb 12) and she was already fast and a shoots maker. But her mindset was bad and too defensive. The mental change is the reason we talk about her now. The physical change is just a fun subject and attracts the males but not the reason for her breakthrough. Its all in the head, not elsewhere

While I agree that her mind-set has changed, and winning does build confidence, Simona is on the record saying that she was experiencing back and shoulder pain because of the size of her breast. She did stress that she did the reduction not to help her tennis game, but to improve her overall quality of life. My cousin had the same surgery done, and she said it eliminated quite a bit of pain that she was always experiencing. I would assume being in constant pain, can have a detrimental affect on mental abilities.

 

[Si Si Simona]

While I agree that her mind-set has changed, and winning does build confidence, Simona is on the record saying that she was experiencing back and shoulder pain because of the size of her breast. She did stress that she did the reduction not to help her tennis game, but to improve her overall quality of life. My cousin had the same surgery done, and she said it eliminated quite a bit of pain that she was always experiencing. I would assume being in constant pain, can have a detrimental affect on mental abilities.

I (of course) agree that the reduction was very helpfull, but Simona herself said that the mental change after leaving her previous coach on March 2013, and having the time "to think" made the difference. She said that in Romanian interviews to Romanian media. The physical change happened much earlier and had nothing to do with her current improvement. This is an interesting "issue" imo. The way people undermine mental changes. I guess its a complicated subject bordering with psychiatric stuff, so people are trying to find the easy explanation of "no pain, more game.."
Thats not the case. The mental awakening and the mental toughness she showed in Sofia after being twice down in 3rd set in Semis and final is what I am talking about. She couldnt effort losing in front of her family, friends, fans after all the hard work she put in last months. She just matured in the last 6 months. Thats all.
That has nothing to do with losing physical pain. Maybe its a bit a different mentality than what fans expect?... Thats why I asked "what do you think about her?" in my title. I was curious to see how it looks like here. Interesting stuff.

P.S. - The Courtney Nguyen article here: http://tennis.si.com/2013/11/06/simona-halep-wta-breakout-2013/ is too plane and superficial. It does not tell the real story, and thats why I did not like it. Its like a dry resume of her career.
The answers given there by Ruzici and Simona are just for the record if you know what I mean..
I am a big fan because what is not written in this article.
Anyway, I wish everyone to enjoy her tennis while she is in good form. No one knows the future.

 

[ozza]

It just reads like it suddenly clicked for her. Very few people just come out of juniors and it immediately clicks.

I don't particularly like the tone of that article, because it remains somewhat dismissive of her despite her achievements. Let's face it the main reason she's remained under the radar so to speak is because she's Romanian, not American, British, whatever other big media nation. She has far more on her resume that most the other hyped youngsters, she's older than them too, but this idea of rubbishing her due to sub-par slam results is nonsense. Firstly she got exceedingly tough draws at the first 3 majors of the year. Secondly it's the way they rubbish everything else, Stephens results at grand slams look good, but beyond Serena (who was clearly injured) who did she actually beat? This slams only mentality only really works if you are a big threat to actually win them. The level we saw from Halep this year was a lot higher than anything we saw from Stephens. The run that sticks in my mind when I think of Halep's year was her back to back picking apart of Wozniacki and Kvitova in New Haven, two top 10 players back to back, and she dealt with them looking like she belongs.

Also one bugbear of mine. How is it so many journalists don't seem to know how the ranking system works. Halep doesn't defend 65 points in Australia, she defends 5 points. The rest doesn't count on her ranking. She actually defends 140 points until Rome.

 

[colleen66]

While I agree that her mind-set has changed, and winning does build confidence, Simona is on the record saying that she was experiencing back and shoulder pain because of the size of her breast. She did stress that she did the reduction not to help her tennis game, but to improve her overall quality of life. My cousin had the same surgery done, and she said it eliminated quite a bit of pain that she was always experiencing. I would assume being in constant pain, can have a detrimental affect on mental abilities.

I (of course) agree that the reduction was very helpfull, but Simona herself said that the mental change after leaving her previous coach on March 2013, and having the time "to think" made the difference. She said that in Romanian interviews to Romanian media. The physical change happened much earlier and had nothing to do with her current improvement. This is an interesting "issue" imo. The way people undermine mental changes. I guess its a complicated subject bordering with psychiatric stuff, so people are trying to find the easy explanation of "no pain, more game.."
Thats not the case. The mental awakening and the mental toughness she showed in Sofia after being twice down in 3rd set in Semis and final is what I am talking about. She couldnt effort losing in front of her family, friends, fans after all the hard work she put in last months. She just matured in the last 6 months. Thats all.
That has nothing to do with losing physical pain. Maybe its a bit a different mentality than what fans expect?... Thats why I asked "what do you think about her?" in my title. I was curious to see how it looks like here. Interesting stuff.

P.S. - The Courtney Nguyen article here: http://tennis.si.com/2013/11/06/simona-halep-wta-breakout-2013/ is too plane and superficial. It does not tell the real story, and thats why I did not like it. Its like a dry resume of her career.
The answers given there by Ruzici and Simona are just for the record if you know what I mean..
I am a big fan because what is not written in this article.
Anyway, I wish everyone to enjoy her tennis while she is in good form. No one knows the future.

To answer your original question "what do you think about her?", I think that she has a great future ahead of her. I see her in the top 5 if she is able to maintain her level of play. Could she win a slam, I'm not sure. If she gets a favorable draw and there are a few upsets (Wimblegeddon 2013) anything is possible. Her stature reminds me of Justine, and although they are very different in style of play, she shares one important feature with Justine, great court positioning for return shots.

 

[Si Si Simona]

Hi ozza,
I didnt want to go as deep as you did in your great comment above.
I am new here and after the horrible experience I had on the TF forum, I am not risking being too bold in my comments. I just need a mental rest of my own here.
I joined TF on July 13 thinking that all tennis fans are like Simon Reed from Eurosport, intelligent, polite, friendly. How little I knew... People like you still give me hope and believe in tennis fans (not joking).
The reality about the Romanian players image in the west media is exactly as you told it but I got used to it by now and I am indifferent to it.
Just an example: The Eurosport website with its very strong western (British) orientation did not had even one article about Simona until she won Sofia! Not even after Moscow or New Haven. I was visiting their website regularly and they simply boycotted her. I am not exaggerating. I picked my words carefully. They hated her until they had no choice after Sofia, and then they kept the article about her win for less than 12 hours on air lol. After 12 hours they replaced her article with men tennis articles..lol.. talking about professionalism and fairness to someone who won 5 events in 5 months until Sofia...
Many times I feel that tennis is a tool owned by the west, and they just fake their claim that its a world wide sports.