Simona Halep announced her retirement right after playing in front of her favorite crowd, at the Transylvania Open, in Cluj. Sorana Cîrstea, with tears in her eyes during Simona’s farewell message, also openly speaks about the inevitable moment when she, too, will step away from the sport. Irina Begu, Monica Niculescu, and Ana Bogdan have also passed the age of 30, making one of the hashtags of the Transylvania Open in Cluj inevitably #maturity.
For Ana Bogdan, this very concept seems to be the magic ingredient that has strengthened the atmosphere at this year’s TO “party”, the last one with Simo as a player. “We’ve matured, that’s the word! At this age, we see ourselves differently compared to how we did ten years ago when we were just kids. We’re closer, more united, more open, everything between us feels much more natural, and that makes me very happy.”
“Maturity comes from going through countless matches, experiences, lessons, defeats. That’s where you learn the most.” And experience comes most naturally. “I’ve seen what it meant for me last year. I’ve never had a year like 2024 in my career. There were, of course, some very beautiful things that happened to me: qualifying with the national team for the BJK Cup finals, and participating in the Olympics for the first time, an event I had dreamed of for so many years. But I also learned things that I don’t think I could have grasped in any other way than through defeats,” Ana says.
Although she seemed the farthest from the finish line among the players in her 30s, Ana Bogdan admits she was very close to retirement last year. “On one hand, I thought, ‘God, how much 2024 has taken from me, how much suffering I’ve endured!’ It was incredibly tough, and I’m speaking very seriously, I was at the point of saying: ‘That’s it, I’m done!’ Because I couldn’t see the way forward, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But all these things led to my maturity, to my growth as a tennis player, but, above all, as a person.”
All players go through periods like this. Some might be lucky enough to experience them earlier, which helps them mature faster, while others go through them later. But I believe everyone has their path, and things come when they are meant to, when we are ready to receive and understand them. If this had happened to me a few years ago, I don’t know if I would have perceived things the way I do now. I’ve been through rough patches before, but none have hit me as hard or as profoundly as 2024 did. This time, I was alone for much longer, I felt, understood, and processed everything more deeply. I spent a lot of time with myself, and I believe that was essential in allowing me to dig deeper into my soul, to truly understand who I am and what I want to do.”
