She won the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells, reached her first US Open semifinal and got back to No.2 in the world. It was a very solid year for Simona Halep, and now the question is – how will she follow it up?

By winning her maiden Grand Slam? By snatching the No.1 ranking away from Serena Williams?

Sure, but it’s an Olympic year. So while Halep might be focused on winning matches at Melbourne, Paris, London or New York, Halep’s passionate Romanian fanbase have their sights set on Rio.

“I don’t know how I will be then physically, but if I will be healthy, I will compete,” she said last year about the 2016 Olympics. “I do all my best and I hope to bring Romania a medal, although it will not be easy.”

Halep knows a thing or two about managing her country’s heavy expectations – she’s far and away Romania’s brightest female tennis star, but she’s still only human.

“In our country everyone is telling me that I have to win all the matches,” said Romania’s No.1. “But I’m not a robot. I’m a normal girl and a normal player. I have ups and downs… I try not to think about what people are saying about my results or my tennis.

“I know Romanians want me to win every match, and it’s fine – I do everything I can to win them.”

Halep will be fine-tuning her preparations for the Australian Open at Brisbane and Sydney, where she joins several of the world’s Top 10 players. It’s going to be her first big test: she ended the year 3-5 overall against the Top 10, a figure she’s looking to improve in 2016 as she starts to mount her Grand Slam – and Olympic – challenge.