Tennis: It's championship or bust

Simona Halep was uncomfortable with her size 34DD breasts. Photo / Getty Images

Rising star Simona Halep used to get attention for all the wrong reasons. The Romanian, who will feature at the ASB Classic, is ranked 84 in the world and has achieved some promising results.

But the 19-year-old, who was the 2008 French Open junior champion, gathered a worldwide profile with her decision to have breast reduction surgery. Halep had gained a large online following - often with tenuous links to sport - and a considerable male fan base. On the cusp of her 18th birthday, Halep announced she would have surgery to reduce the size of her 34DD breasts, which "make me uncomfortable when I play". This prompted all manner of debate, with Facebook groups and 'fans' petitioning in an attempt to have her reconsider.

Former South African No 1 beach volleyball player Alena Schurkova, who is similarly proportioned, told British media Halep was making a big mistake and was concerned about the implications of the decision.

"It sends out the message that girls with big boobs can't play sports and that is just wrong," said Schurkova.

"I do a lot more explosive movements than her, throwing myself around on the beach volleyball court, so I don't really understand the argument that it is restrictive having bigger breasts."

Schurkova, who also represented New Zealand in beach volleyball, felt that if high profile professional athletes began to have such surgery, it would send a dangerous message to high school athletes.

"I have never found them to be a problem. I use a really good support bra and that's really all you need."

There was a similar but less scientific reaction among some English tabloids, with headlines like 'The dream is over'; 'What has Simona been reduced to' and perhaps worst: 'The tennis world is going to lose two of its brightest stars ...'

An English plastic surgeon weighed into the debate, endorsing Halep's decision: "It is clear that [they] are causing a functional interference with her tennis game. Her swing is somewhat impeded by what is in the way and she just can't move as quickly with her figure as it is now. There is no doubt Halep's game will improve after a reduction of her breasts, and likely make her able to swing more quickly and react on the court faster."

Halep went ahead with the procedure in June 2009. "I don't like them in my everyday life either," she pointed out. "I would have gone for surgery even if I hadn't been a sportswoman."

It must have been an extremely difficult decision, accentuated by the worldwide glare of the media. From the age of 16, Halep had handled the extra media attention with aplomb, despite realising not all photographers and spectators were turning up to her matches with purely tennis motivations.

A google search on 'Simona Halep' produces a revealing 2.56 million results (Serena Williams 2.94 million, Maria Sharapova 4.99 million). Her colleagues ranked either side of her on the world ladder - No 83 Lourdes Dominguez Lino and No 85 Zuzana Ondraskova - come up with 67,200 and 36,900 results respectively.

Serena Williams has had to cope for years with jibes about her prominent chest, though she gave some back to the male-dominated tennis media at this year's Wimbledon, attending press conferences in a tight t-shirt with "Are you looking at my titles?" emblazoned across her chest.

Halep's is an interesting case and it is hard to recall precedents in any sport. Australian 400m hurdler Jana Pittman-Rawlinson had her breast implants removed in 2010, figuring that would improve her prospects in the 2012 London Olympics.

"Every time I raced I panicked about whether I was letting my country down, all for my own vanity," she said. "I absolutely loved having bigger boobs, but I don't want to short-change Australia either."

Britain's Daily Mail also drew a comparison with darts player Andy Fordham, who has lost over 60kg in recent times.

"The only problem with playing darts now is that my weight loss has affected my balance. It has been like learning to throw in a new body."

For now, Halep can focus completely on her tennis and her highly public personal decision has been vindicated by her results.

She has risen 184 places in the 18 months since the operation and has been established in the top 100 since July.

Halep had a 39-23 singles win-loss record in 2010 and enjoyed several victories over players ranked significantly higher than her. The highlight was in Morocco where she came through three rounds of qualifying and made it all the way to her first WTA final, before going down to the world No. 67 Iveta Benesova.

She also battled through qualifying at Roland Garros, only to be drawn against eventual runner-up Sam Stosur in the first round. Halep started to attract attention for the right reasons at the US Open, where she pushed former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic to three sets, losing in a third set tiebreaker.