Simona halep in press conference. Bnp Paribas open 2017

Simona Halep is addicted to tennis and she’s not afraid to admit it. Which has made things especially hard for the world No. 4 in the early months of 2017; a year in which she has seen limited court time due to a nagging injury.
The 5-foot-6 Romanian sparkplug began experiencing knee pain last year at the WTA Finals in Singapore, but figured it would take care of itself in the off-season. However, late-year training -- perhaps over-training -- brought the pain back. Despite treatments and rehab, she's struggled on the match court, coming into the 2017 BNP Paribas Open with an uncharacteristic sub-.500 record of 2-3 on the year. She was unable to join her countrywomen for their Fed Cup World Group II matchup with Belgium, a tie they went on to lose, 3-1. And the 2014 Roland Garros runner-up has more often than not found herself confined to the gym, or to her home back in Constanta.