By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, September 22, 2021
"After six wonderful years working together, Darren Cahill and I have decided that it’s time to end our working relationship," Simona Halep said.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Newlywed Simona Halep is set to start a new chapter in her career.
Long-time coach Darren Cahill won't be part of the story going forward.
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Former world No. 1 Halep announced she's split with Cahill in a post on social media. The pair began working together in 2016.
"After six wonderful years working together, Darren Cahill and I have decided that it’s time to end our working relationship," Halep posted on Twitter.
"Thank you D for everything, for making me a better tennis player and a better person."
The 55-year-old Cahill coached Halep to the world No. 1 ranking in 2017 and 2018 and to her maiden major championship at the 2018 Roland Garros. Cahill took a one-year leave from Halep's coaching team in 2019, returning in 2020.
In July of 2019, a red-hot Halep blazed by Serena Williams, 6-2, 6-2, in a brilliant 55-minute thrashing to make history as the first Romanian to win Wimbledon.
Before coaching Halep to the top spot, Cahill coached both Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi to the world No. 1 ranking—with Hewitt making history as the youngest man to rise to the top spot and Agassi at the time the oldest man to attain world No. 1.
Cahill is credited with helping Halep learn to channel her fiery emotion that sometime consumed her into fuel she used to burn brightly on court.
During the days when the WTA permitted on-court coaching, the Halep-Cahill chat sessions opened a window into how elite players think and feel and struggle with self-belief under extreme pressure just like hackers.
Known for his technical and tactical acumen, one of Cahill's best assets was as a listener and a communicator who often urged Halep to share exactly what she was feeling and thinking and face the fears with positive energy and courage. An example of their often revealing dialogues came in Miami.
Cahill did not attend Halep's wedding last week in her native Romania. Halep, who celebrates her 30th birthday on Monday, married long-time partner Toni Iuric on September 15th.
However, that is believed to be due to the fact Cahill is facing a two-week quarantine period in a hotel upon his return home to Australia after spending three weeks in New York City serving as an analyst for ESPN's US Open coverage.