Former world No. 1 Simona Halep acknowledged that what has been happening over the last two years has been taking a toll on tennis players.
Two years ago, the WTA Tour was suspended for five months due to the pandemic.
Last year, the disappearance of Peng Shuai prompted reaction from many players who wanted to know what was happening.
Now, the Russia and Ukraine war is impacting the whole world, not just the tennis world.
“It’s tiring in my opinion for everybody and it gives us anxiety,” Halep told Reem Abulleil of Eurosport.
“It’s not easy to handle everything and yes I feel that everybody is struggling, not only tennis players, not only the tennis world. I feel like the world is struggling and many people are suffering for one reason or another and I don’t feel that everybody is stable now.”
Halep: The stress is likely a reason why some players sustain injuries
“The world is not stable, I have that feeling. So it’s not easy to handle it and anxiety can bring you down most of the time and that’s why probably us players are struggling,” Halep explained.
“We cannot be consistent that much anymore and also the injuries, I think they are coming from the stress and that’s why you cannot be healthy physically and you cannot perform.”
Also, Halep admitted there was a point where she thought wasn’t really the top priority anymore.
“Yes, I thought at one point that tennis is not that important anymore because of everything that is happening. With the pandemic I was super scared at the start, now the war I was super scared at the start. But it’s something we cannot control,” Halep admitted.
“Tennis means nothing if you think of the problems that the world has now. But yeah, I think we have to live every day and if we’re able to play again tournaments and to do what we love, which we’re very lucky about it, we should profit and just enjoy it.”
On Thursday, Halep defeated Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-3 in her Madrid opener to set up a second round meeting versus Paula Badosa.