French Open: Simona Halep speaks openly about panic attacks in the second round
Romania's Simona Halep reported on the panic attack that completely turned the momentum of the game after her three-set loss against Qinwen Zheng in the second round of Roland Garros.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit:
May 28, 2022, 06:30 pm
Everything went well for Simona Halep up to 6: 2 and 2: 1: The former world number one clearly dominated the second round game at the French Open against Qinwen Zheng. At the end of the first sentence, however, the Romanian had a panic attack. An experience almost impossible to convey to people who have never been afflicted by this increasingly common disorder. It can be felt through shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pains, dizziness and possibly fear of death.
The uncertainty caused by the onset of symptoms was so strong that the 30-year-old lost her concept and the game turned completely. In the end, Halep had to leave Court Suzanne-Lenglen as a clear loser despite winning the first set. In the press conference that followed the match, she spoke quite openly about what had happened on the pitch: "It was a panic attack. I didn't know how to deal with it because I don't have it often."
"It was new to me"
She doesn't know why it happened as she actually dominated the match. "I played well, but suddenly it happened. I completely lost concentration. Right after the game it was difficult, now I feel good again. I've recovered and I'll learn from this situation. It was, I don't think it's dangerous at all, but this is where it happened and it's good that I can laugh again."
She probably put too much pressure on herself before the game: "I trained well, worked hard on myself. I really wanted to do well. But I have to learn to be more relaxed about things. [..] It happened, and I have to accept it. It's something normal that can happen to anyone. I'll be more prepared next time. It was new to me, I've never had that during a match."
One can only hope that the two-time Grand Slam champion will get her anxiety symptoms under control in the long term. The former top US player Mardy Fish, for example, had to end his career prematurely due to a chronic panic disorder.
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