Simona Halep is all for taking risks on the tennis court. But on Sunday morning, when the No 4 player was faced with a tranquil-looking camel by the name of Ghazala in Al Awir desert, she was less than ready to take a gamble.
“Yesterday, during practice, I felt a little bit of a contraction on my muscles, close to the rib. It’s not dangerous, but still I feel it. It’s like a spasm,” she said, gesturing to her side.
The injury was a good enough reason to refuse to ride a camel for the first time, but it wasn’t the only one. At 23 years old and 1.68m tall, Halep looked tiny next to 12-year-old Ghazala. She confessed that, as a rule of thumb, she much preferred to err on the side of the caution.
“I’m like, a safety girl,” she said. Asked whether she would be found bungee jumping or skydiving, she responded with a resounding no. She’s not very adventurous without a racket in hand.
“[I like] to stay on the beach, to swim a little bit, and just to watch some shows. Just relaxing — not [doing] a lot of things. I’m a relaxed girl,” she said.
But with a little bit of coaxing, and after petting Ghazala’s head enough times to know that she wouldn’t bite, Halep squared her shoulders and announced that she was up to the challenge.
“I can try,” she said, which is certainly the first step to conquering any fear.
Halep climbed onto the blue saddle draped over the camel’s humps and held on tightly. She was all smiles, even when she had to squeeze her eyes shut as the camel began to push off the ground.
“Oh my god. It’s very high. It’s not easy to stay up here,” she called out as the camel led her around the desert.
Soon after, Halep was joined by a train of three other camels, with her trainer, physiotherapist and other members of her team following behind her. They rode down a humble dune and circled back up, which seemed to be enough time for Halep to become acquainted with her new friend.
“Finally, I’m relaxed now,” she said.
Afterwards, she confessed that she was much more nervous toward the beginning of the ride. “I’ve not done adventurous things [in my life]. I like just to watch. I don’t have the courage,” she said.
Is she an animal lover, at least? “Not really,” she said, tacking on a laugh. “I like husky dogs, but I don’t have any.”
