Simona Halep didn’t need a major to validate her No. 1 ranking. She’s been the best player week-to-week on tour since Serena Williams took her pregnancy leave. But we inevitably judge players based on their performance at Grand Slams. And on Saturday at Roland Garros, Halep—loser of her first three major finals—finally broke through, elevating her legacy and further cementing her status as the world’s best player.
Despite Halep's consistency, this day never quite felt inevitable. There are no guarantees in tennis—just ask Dinara Safina or Marcelo Rios, two former No. 1s who never won a Slam. And while Halep finally won that coveted trophy after so many near-misses—last year’s crushing loss to Jelena Ostapenko, the 2018 Australian Open defeat to Caroline Wozniacki and so many more—Saturday’s match, a 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 victory over Sloane Stephens, initially looked like another disappointment in waiting, the latest proof that the Romanian couldn’t win the big one.