Simona Halep crashed out of the US Open after repeatedly smacking her racket on the court in an out-of-character meltdown
Simona Halep smashed her racket as she crashed out of the US Open in the second round, losing to the unseeded American Taylor Townsend.
The Romanian, ranked fourth in the world, lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (4-7) to Townsend, who secured her first ever win over a top ten player.
Townsend, who had once dropped out of the WTA's top 300 in 2015, said the victory was a "very defining moment for me to realize that I belong here."
Townsend takes on Halep's compatriot Sorana Cirstea in the third round Saturday.
Simona Halep took her frustrations out on her racket as she crashed out of the 2019 US Open in the second round, losing to the 23-year-old Taylor Townsend.
The Romanian, a two-time Grand Slam winner, was beaten by 116th-ranked Townsend in three sets at Flushing Meadows on Thursday, the defeat being her first in four matches against the American.
Halep took the first set with ease 6-2, however the momentum turned in the second, with Townsend storming to a 6-3 win.
Halep was on the back foot early in the third, and with scores one game apiece, the current world number four smashed her racket into the floor not once, but four times.
The 27-year-old's new racket seemed to have done the trick as she won the third game and later secured a match point, however she couldn't take advantage, with Townsend pulling the scores back to eventually win the match in a thrilling tie breaker.
"I'm not surprised because she can play well," Halep told reporters after the shock defeat at the post-match press conference. "If she comes to the net, if she can keep this rhythm, it's something big.
"But always when you play with top player, you have nothing to lose. You feel free on court. So that's why maybe she was able to do it 100 percent correct."
Townsend has previously won singles and doubles junior titles at the 2012 Australian Open, however has endured a difficult career since turning pro at 16 years old.
Before her victory over Halep, the American had never beaten a top ten player, and at one point had dropped out of the WTA's top 300 in 2015, but now hopes to kick on from the first major victory of her career.
"It's been a long road. A lot of haters. A lot of people who weren't sure. I mean, I've heard it for a really long time that I was never going to make it, that I wasn't going to be able to break through or do this or do that," Townsend told ESPN.
"This was a huge, monumental moment. It was a very defining moment for me to realize that I belong here."
Townsend takes on Halep's countrywoman Sorana Cirstea in the third round Saturday.
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