Former world No. 1 Simona Halep officially retired from professional tennis on Saturday evening during a gala event at BT Arena in Cluj-Napoca, held as part of the seventh edition of the Sports Festival.

In front of a packed arena, a visibly emotional Halep delivered a message of gratitude to her fans and to Romania: 'Thank you, Romania, this is where I was born, where I grew up. (...) Thank you from the bottom of my heart for not doubting me when times were hard.'

The emotionally charged ceremony brought together major legends of Romanian sport - Nadia Comaneci, Gheorghe Hagi, Ilie Nastase and Virginia Ruzici - as well as international tennis figures, including Halep's former coaches Darren Cahill and Daniel Dobre, umpire Kader Nuni, and top players Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils.

For the first time, the public could see all of Halep's career trophies displayed in one place. The BT Arena court was symbolically customised in two colours: green for her Wimbledon title and orange for her Roland Garros triumph. On this occasion, Romanian Tennis Federation vice-president Daniel Dobre presented Halep with a special trophy from the national federation.

The gala also featured, for the first time, video projections from the family life and career of the former world leader, set to a live performance by Loredana Groza of ABBA's 'The Winner Takes It All'.

'It's very special because this is my whole life. These trophies, these people who supported me even in the hardest moments, they stood by me and instilled me with good energy. All the images we just saw ... that is my life. Every day was special. It was hard, but in the end it was beautiful. I regret nothing and I just want to thank life and the Universe for everything I received,' Halep said.

The evening also included exhibition singles and doubles matches featuring Halep, Andrei Pavel, Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils, who entertained the crowd with humorous moments and spectacular shot-making. In a symbolic gesture toward the future of Romanian tennis, Halep rallied a few balls with an eight-year-old player from Cluj-Napoca.

At the end of the gala, Simona Halep thanked all those who had a role in shaping her career.

'The moment has come to say goodbye. I know this may be the last time I speak officially as an athlete. You supported me both in good and in bad times. When things in my career turned were very hard, you stood by me and gave me the strength I needed. You didn't doubt me, and that meant everything and gave me the confidence to work and move forward. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this. To you, and to those watching on TV, because there are many hearts there as well, beating with us tonight. All those who are here in the arena, who have been present in my life, helped me. At every step toward reaching the top of the pyramid - and without these people, maybe it would have been harder, maybe I wouldn't have succeeded. Each of them mattered greatly and laid a brick to this house, as I like to say, which was my career. Thank you so much for that,' she said.

Halep also highlighted the essential role of her commercial partners, but especially of her family.

'This goes to the sponsors of that time who supported me and, when things were difficult, did not give up on me, did not stop believing in me - and that mattered enormously, perhaps even more than the sport itself; what mattered was that they had confidence in me as a person. Thank you, Romania - this is where I was born, this is where I grew up - for the wonderful people in our country who loved sport, who loved this sport that I practised, who came to the National Stadium to see my trophies. Those were unforgettable moments for me, and I sincerely hope that after the little girl who was here today, many more champions will follow - to reach my level or even surpass me - because sport is beautiful and brings us joy,' Halep concluded. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Sebastian Olaru; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)