Simona Halep has set her sights on winning her first major title over the coming years while she is also targeting number one spot in the world rankings.

The Romanian has never tasted grand slam success, although she has reached at least the quarter-final stage of all four major events, with her best performance coming when she reached the final of the French Open in 2014.

The 24-year-old has also never topped the world rankings, although she has been as high as number two in the standings, and she believes there is an opportunity for her to reach the summit of the woman’s game, as Serena Williams was recently ousted from number one spot by Angelique Kerber.

“It’s much easier to believe in yourself when you see that Serena is not there any more, winning every tournament, being number one in the world for years,” Halep said.

Halep failed to make it past the quarter-final stage of any major tournament during 2016, but she is already targeting an improvement next year, as she believes she is capable of securing a maiden grand slam success.

“I feel that everything, it’s open now. I feel that everyone has a chance to win a big tournament, to reach the number one,” she continued.

“Everyone has a chance to reach the top if we believe. And we started to believe more, I think.”