Simona Halep is back in action this week at the Prague Open and the Romanian is looking forward to getting back on court as she is the top seed in Prague after withdrawing from Palermo last week.
Halep unsure of US Open participation
The first question asked to Halep was whether she has decided to play the upcoming U.S. Open in thr wake of several big names withdrawing and she revealed she isn't sure right now.
"I didn't make the decision yet", she said. "I will have a feeling this tournament and after I finish here I will decide what I'm going to do. The conditions are tough so I don't yet what I'm going to do.
"The travelling from Europe is a little bit tough changing flights so it's going to be tough for me personally and mentally so I don't want to put myself into that space, but as I said, I haven't decided yet. The conditions are tough for me."
Romanian talks about what she did during break from tennis
With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the tour over the last four or five months, every player has handled the situation differently and the former world number one has revealed how she has gone about it.
"I had a break for about two months. During quarantine period, I couldn't practice. It was really tough, but I had time to relax, to take a break. It was like ten years full of tournaments every week, so it was a good stop in a way, but it was tough I have to admit and then I stayed home in Bucharest.
"I was practicing hard the last six or seven weeks and I feel ready to start, but I'm sure I will struggle a little bit to adapt to the matches because I haven't had any official matches since Dubai in February. I didn't travel at all. It's the first time here in Czech. I'm a little but nervous, but things are very controlled here. I feel safe."
'The main goal is to win matches'
When asked what her expectations in Prague were, the Romanian stated "the main goal is to win matches. I know it's going to be tough because the rhythm isn't there yet, but with patience, I will be able to come back to my highest level, but there's no pressure because I don't know what to expect.
"I'm happy to be back. I'm happy to be healthy and I feel fit for the start of the tournament. I miss the emotions, the competition because I practice home, but it's not the same so I need to be on the tour and I still miss the matches and I'm looking forward to start here."
'The health is very important to me'
When asked how she feels emotionally coming back to the tour with the new guidelines in place, she stated "it feels weird again after so many months to play tournaments. I feel nervous. I feel I didn't play for a while and it's a little bit of a struggle when we come back from such a big break. You have to be careful, but I feel ready, I feel prepared, but I'm looking forward to feeling those inside emotions for my match.
"The level of the game, I cannot say now. I can say after my first match because in practice I feel good, I feel ready to start, but as I always said, official match is different, so I cannot rate myself now, but I'm pretty prepared to start again."
"I don't know what others do because nobody knows what I'm doing, but I respect the rules in place and I have respected those in my country. The health is very important for me. It's the most important thing, so everything I'm told I do, so everyone has to be responsible for themselves. We are all in the same boat, so we have to protect each other."