Darren Cahill: „Simona put herself out there, for good and for bad. Now she has an opportunity to transcend sport and move her influence into helping the next generation”

When Darren Cahill was officially announced as the coach of Simone Halep at the end of 2015, after spending time with her as an Adidas consultant, I almost could not believe it. It was bound to happen, but the positive shock was a lot to handle for the Romanian fans. The importance of this move seemed, not just in my opinion, immense for Halep, who, although he had already reached the 2nd place in the world, did not yet impose the respect that he generates today in the tennis world.

It was a huge hit, a big step forward made by Simona and her management. She was securing the services of a world-class coach, one of the best in the world, and that clearly showed her intentions for the next phase of her career. Such coaches are rarely directly involved into Romanian sport. Which is why maybe the occasion was appreciated and welcomed back then in Romania, but its potential was not fully understood.

In Darren, Simona found an ideal companion for the trip she was going to start. The Australian had an incomparable experience. He brought to the table a champion pedigree, a great record and a wonderful reputation, reinforced by his ESPN collaboration, which propelled him among the best analysts in the world.

Cahill was so sought-after that Roger Federer himself wanted to work with him at one point, back in 2009, but the negotiations were stuck somewhere on the road, because the Australian wanted to spend more time with his family.

Darren is also an expensive coach. Some of the most absurd critics Simona has received in 2015, the year when her honeymoon with the Romanian public was harshly stopped by some tougher moments (her absence from the Fed Cup tie with Canada, her quick losese from Roland Garros and Wimbledon) was that she would refuse to invest in her career.

Bringing Darren into the fold showed not only that theory was just an urban myth, but it showed how far was Simona aiming. You do not hire Cahill because you want to keep yourself in the Top 10, you hire him because you want to win Slams. And not one, but more. Simona needed a super-qualified coach to help her make the jump over that last wall she was still hitting. And in Cahill she found not only an excellent coach, but also a round character, a good friend and an expert of the human psyche. The Australian understood her faster than many of the Romanians back home and helped her to open up in time, to be more courageous, to own her shortcomings and face her demons.

It was not always easy. It’s always hard before it gets better. The year 2016 – Cahill and Halep’s first full season together – was perceived by some Romanian fans as a regression, although Simona continued to stay up there. And 2017 was an endless series of some incredible emotional moments. The season began with an injury that affected Simona for the first three months. Then the famous Miami moment happened, where their relationship took a serious hit, which happened right in front of our eyes, live on TV. It was then when Darren did what some perceived as a „power-play” but calculated move; others believed it was the end of their relationship.

By eventually telling Simona that „we’ll talk after Paris,” Darren took a risk, indeed. But that was assumed. His intuition was right. It was indeed the right time for such a shock therapy and it did produce the effects he wanted.

But the beauty of it is that even if things would have not ended well for him, Darren was convinced that he was doing the right thing for Simona.

The results were soon visible for everybody. After the Fed Cup and Stuttgart, Cahill had already seen enough and their partnership resumed at Madrid, a tournament that she won, following it with a final in Rome.

That run was followed by the French Open, Wimbledon, or Cincinnati, all of which were painfully missed, as well as the chance to get to the World Number 1.

Some thought Halep’s first round defeat at the US Open was going to be another dangerous moment for the two of them. But despite of their occasional on-court-coaching sessions sparks, the relationship between Simona and Darren grew stronger and stronger, becoming more and more enduring. „You have to expect a long-lasting partnership between Simona and Darren”, Virginia Ruzici told me in 2016. She was right.

Simona and Darren left no stones unturned. Cahill was serving as a coach, confident, life-coach, psychologist, friend, a business adviser. When Simona needed more help, he also recommended her to work with Alexis Castorri, a move that would prove to be excellent on the long run.

Cahill enhanced not only Simona’s tennis, but also her personality. „Simona has changed a lot since working with Darren. Not only is she more relaxed, but also her interests have widened,” several sources told us. A evidence for this is the clue left in the interview below by Cahill, which confirms that Simona is preparing to launch a Foundation. By doing this, Simona follows the steps of some of the greatest athletes of all time. Like them, she becomes more than her results on court, extending her legacy beyond that.

Proiect oferit de

In all those difficult moments, or in all those beautiful moments, Darren was there for Simona. It was there for Romanian fans as well, to whom he often humbly responds on Twitter. Decency was always one of the qualities of the Australian who has become very emotionally invested in the Simona project. Now, after finally having won their first Grand Slam title together, Darren tells us that it was the most beautiful moment of his tennis career as a player and also as a coach. This is the same person who led Lleyton Hewitt, a countryman, and Andre Agassi, a living legend of this sport, to some of their biggest moments. It is understandable why Simo, never a fan of big, empty words, spoke about her desire to work with Darren until the end of her career.

In Simona, Darren has not just his third World Number 1. He has a person who reflects his values. And together they have so much to do, so many other things to win and so much space for them to grow and also to put their values at work for the greater good.

*

How did you guys celebrate her triumph? And what were your feelings when that last ball was done and dusted and Simo was the Roland Garros winner?

The celebrations were typical Simona style and very low key, but it was a beautiful night. She surrounded herself with family and friends and had a nice dinner in one of the Paris restaurants before heading back to the hotel around midnight. I’m sure there were a lot of emotions running through her veins that night and I think we were all pretty exhausted. The moment she won that final point and the realization that she had won was a mixture of elation, being proud of her achievement and her personally, and relief all rolled into one. It was the first time that I had ever had tears when being involving in a tennis match, both as a player and a coach, so her journey and the moment meant the world to me.

You said at some point she comes from a different culture, with enormous pressure on her shoulders to break through and succeed. Can you offer some light on what this achievement actually means for her? 

I think Romanians are very similar to Australians in many ways. We are not a big nation, but incredibly passionate about our sport and our athletes. In many respects we’ve both had to do it the hard way but in different ways. Australia is so far from the rest of the world that we learn to work together, to travel together, to support each other so that when we travel we work as a team and we have a “it’s us against them” mentality that drives us. I see that with the Romanian players all the time. There is no real National funding or great facilities that makes the road easier for players and they have to fight for everything that they achieve. There are no handouts, no wildcards, no special consideration given to its players on tour (unlike players from other countries) that they team together to work hard to push each other and support each other.

The fact that the WTA has 6 Romanian players inside the top 60 and the world No.1 is a testament to the drive and mental strength these young ladies have. The only difference in general that I see is that Aussies let go of the negative very quickly. We can make a mistake and internally torture ourselves like anybody else, but we move on quickly. We tell ourselves that next time it’ll be better, a lot better and we get back at it and compete like crazy. It’s where the Aussie saying “no worries mate” comes from and strangely enough we still kind of live by that motto, for good or for bad. Simona has had a history of hanging onto the negative too long and that’s partly because she pushes for perfection all the time. It’s a strength and a weakness so finding the right balance is always going to be important for her.

This win was an example of someone overcoming disappointments and moving on, attempting to get better and continually challenging herself while carrying an enormous amount of pressure and learning to deal with it in a positive way. She’s now held the No.1 ranking, represented her country in Fed Cup, finished a year-end No.1 player, and won a Major title. The 4 dreams that every young tennis player ever dreams about. She now owns a Hall of Fame career and she’s only 26 years old. She should be damn proud of what she’s accomplished because I know that we are all very proud of her. And I know that Romania is also, as I see in the way you treat her as an athlete and a person. The same way we treat our Australian athletes that rise up on the world stage.

After the final, Simona told us that your message for her was different this time around, comparing to other finals. You said to her „you’re going to go on court and you’re going to know that you will win this. You’re going to take it, not expect it to be given to you”. How does one prepare a Slam final played in this very particular context, such as Simona’s context at that time? What did you change, comparing to the other ones?

Yeah, I did take a slightly different approach in the days leading up and right before the match, but Simona was ready to hear those words. Maybe not previously in big matches, but this time her eyes were wide, and she was taking in the words like a sponge. She was ready and believed them. Her journey had made her tougher and mentally stronger, so in my eyes this was her time and opportunity to shine.

As Billie Jean King once said, “pressure is a privilege”. We are doing something we love and aspire to do every day. While it’s completely normal to feel a lot of pressure on finals day, in reality, there’s no other place in the world we’d rather be than right where we are. So it was important for Simona to embrace the moment, embrace the pressure, know that your opponent is feeling the exact same way as you and go out there and be better than just one person today.

Simona had worked incredibly hard to put herself in this position and I knew she had a different confidence about her. She had to walk off the court with no regrets no matter the result and the only way to do that was to stay calm, work hard, give everything you have to give, and when that moment arrived where you saw the finish line, attack it with confidence and aggression. Simona served her 1st ace in the match in that last service which summed up everything she has practiced for.

It was a different mind-set to previous big matches where Simo was looking to relax and remove some of the pressure prior to playing. This time she was up against a player who was playing wonderful tennis and she found a way to close out the win. She did it her way.

Last year, minutes after the Ostapenko final, you said that Simona will have to search inside for some answers, to work hard and come back stronger for another chance. How was the process of this year – from RG17 to RG18 – as a team experience, the daily grind, her personal growth, her doubts, your concerns?

Last year was a real heart breaker, for sure. But that match, a few others contributed to this win and made her stronger. As I said after the match, sometimes the most beautiful destinations are the hardest ones to travel to. Her journey has been well documented and all the while she’s continued to put herself out there, for good and for bad, and she’s tried to get better, to work harder, to push herself. I’m a big believer in that good things happen to good people and Simona is one of the best. She not only earned this win, but I truly believe she deserved it.