Simona Halep opens up about nose surgery after shutting down 2022 season

WATCH: The Break—Simona Halep reportedly separates from husband Toni Iuruc

Simona Halep shared some of the emotional struggles that defined a rocky 2022 season, culminating with her decision to sit out the rest of the year after undergoing what she describes as an overdue nose surgery.

“I don’t know how long the recovery will take,” writes Halep, who admits the procedure was both medical and cosmetic, “See you on court, 2023! I feel I still have a lot to do on a tennis court and still have some goals.”

Halep revealed her major goal for 2022 was to return to the Top 10, something she nearly quit tennis over after the Australian Open when it didn’t feel attainable.

“I was going through so many anxious moments and I thought it is time to stop cause it is emotionally unhealthy.”

It wasn’t until meeting now-coach Patrick Mouratoglou that Halep found a new verve in her career, making the radical decision to integrate entirely onto Mouratoglou’s team.

“When I decide something, I always go full, and I trusted Patrick 100%, so I wanted his people and only his people to be in charge of me,” she writes of her choice to part with longtime agent Virginia Rucizi and PR Manager Katie Spellman.

But with that renewed gusto came more anxiety, which she was unable to hide during a panic attack at Roland Garros.

“It was a very tough period because I always put pressure on myself and having the best coach next to me felt even more pressure to win and do well.”

Vowing to play pressure-free tennis over the summer, Halep’s results returned—and so did her place in the Top 10—but after the US Open, the 30-year-old opted for one more bit of self-care and underwent the nose surgery she’s wanted since at least 2016.

“I could never do it earlier because I never found the necessary three months for the recovery, because tennis was always the first priority in my life,” she explains. “But I felt it’s the right time to do it and also to do something for myself as a person. That is why I also did the [aesthetic] part, that I wanted to do for a long time as I did not like my nose at all.”

The stirring admission earned rave reviews from former world No. 2 Paula Badosa, who has been public about her own mental health journey in the past.

“Such an honest and transparent letter from Simona Halep,” Badosa wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for sharing these thoughts and helping people through your own experience.”

Halep, who also reportedly divorced husband Toni Iuruc, was in position to qualify for a sixth WTA Finals appearance, but will instead be off the court until at least the start of the new season.