Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has announced the end of the season after she underwent nose surgery to treat respiratory problems.

Halep, a two-time Grand Slam winner, was out of breath after winning the Canadian Open last month, where she lost in the first round of the US Open.

The former world No. 1 will miss out on the finals of the remaining WTA Tour this year, but she made it clear the action was necessary.

She tweeted: “As you know, I was very close to quitting tennis because I thought I didn’t have the strength to get back into the top 10. I had a lot of anxious moments and I thought it was time to stop because it’s emotionally unhealthy.”

“But I was lucky enough to discover Patrick Academy where I felt so much passion that I got my passion for tennis back. Thanks to Patrick, I slowly started to believe that I could still play at a good level.”

And she continued: “I don’t know how long it will take me to recover, at the moment I don’t think about anything other than recovery, I definitely won’t be able to participate in any official competitions.”

Johnny Khoury