Romania's tennis star Simona Halep, currently number 9 in the WTA ratings, has undergone a long-needed nose surgery and will not return to court this season.

Halep said she had breathing problems for many years, so she decided to follow medical advice and do the surgery. She is unsure how long recovery will take, but she will stay off court for the rest of the season.

"My 2022 season is over. 2022, you have been an interesting year full of everything! See you on court, 2023!" - Simona Halep wrote on social media.

"I feel I still have a lot to do on a tennis court and still have some goals," she added.

In the same post, Halep also talked about her emotional battles this year. She said she was close to stopping tennis in February because she no longer believed she had "enough power to come back to top 10." She then chose to work with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou, which helped her rediscover her passion for tennis and achieve her goal of getting back in the top 10.

"After that I could play one of my best tennis. And faster than I ever expected, in only 2 months, I was back to Top 10. Goal achieved!" - reads the post.

But then, losing the opening match at the US Open made her realize that she was "completely exhausted mentally" and needed a break.

"When I lost at the US Open, I realized that I'm completely exhausted mentally. Having problems with breathing for many years already and becoming worse with time, I decided to follow the advice of my doctors and do the needed surgery," Halep said.

Simona Halep won two titles this season and returned to the Top 10 for the first time in more than a year, according to Wtatennis.com. In total, Halep has won 24 singles titles during her career so far.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Mircea Nicolescu/Dreamstime.com)