At the 2014 French Open final, Simona Halep drifted tantalizingly close to Grand Slam victory before losing out to Maria Sharapova in an edge-of-seat three-set epic.
Halep, competing at her maiden Grand Slam final, afterward revealed that a crucial decision by the chair umpire unsettled her in a critical phase of play, eventually swinging the game in Maria Sharapova’s direction. Despite her efforts, Halep’s dream of claiming the trophy was crushed in a closely fought three-set contest.
Simona Halep Reached Her First French Open Final After Years of Early Losses in Paris
Coming into Roland Garros as the No. 4 seed, Halep had dominated through the previous rounds, winning each straight. Sharapova was a Grand Slam veteran and champion in Paris way back in 2012. Their title encounter was one of the best women’s finals in recent French Open history. A questionable call in the third set was the turning point that still resonates in Halep’s mind to this day.
At 4-4 in the deciding set, Halep had only just broken Sharapova for the seventh time and was serving to establish a vital advantage. On the first point of the game, Sharapova struck a deep shot, which was first called out by the line judge. Halep tried to return it but miscued it way out of play.
Hoping the call would be replayed, Halep was clearly shocked when chair umpire Kader Nouni overruled the decision, showcasing a mark on the clay that indicated the ball was in. Nouni decided that Halep had touched the ball before the call, so the point was awarded to Sharapova. That one call threw Halep’s momentum off.
“I thought that we had to replay the point because I touched the ball,” Halep explained in a 2014 interview with Sports Illustrated. “But the rule is, no—if I don’t put the ball on the court, we cannot replay the point. So I think that ball was very important at that moment.”
From there, the match shifted dramatically. Sharapova proceeded to win the following seven points and the match, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, taking her second French Open title within three years.
Halep later confessed that the incident lingered on her mind during the rest of the match.
“After that, I couldn’t manage my nerves, maybe, and I couldn’t stay very focused for the next points,” she said. “That’s life. So I have to look forward … to work harder and to play many more finals.”
A Look Into Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova’s Head-to-Head Record
Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep played against each other nine times, with the former dominating their head-to-head 7-2.
Sharapova retired in February 2020, aged 32, while Halep retired five years later in February 2025, at 33 years old.
