Former No. 1 Halep cleared for return from doping ban
— Former world number one Simona Halep was cleared to resume her tennis career on Tuesday after her four-year doping ban was reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The 32-year-old, who was suspended last September by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after two separate doping infractions the previous year, is free to return immediately having last played at the 2022 US Open.
“Throughout this long and difficult process, I have maintained my belief that the truth would eventually come out, and that a just decision would be reached, because I am and always have been a clean athlete,” Halep said in a statement.
“My faith in the process was tested by the scandalous accusations that were leveled against me, and by the seemingly unlimited resources that were aligned against me. But in the end, the truth prevailed, even if it took much longer than I wish it had.” “I cannot wait to return to the tour,” she added.
The two-time Grand Slam singles champion appealed to CAS in February, arguing that the positive test was the result of a “contaminated product” and anomalies in her biological passport could be linked to surgery she had undergone.
“The CAS Panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF Independent Tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine months starting on 7 October 2022, which period expired on 6 July 2023,” CAS said in a statement Tuesday.
Halep’s career has been on hold since October 7, 2022, the date of the start of her provisional suspension after testing positive for Roxadustat at the U.S. Open.
Roxadustat is a substance that can be used legitimately to treat anaemia. But it is also on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list as it is considered a blood-doping agent, which increases haemoglobin and the production of red blood cells.
The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles was then caught up in a second affair, this time “irregularities” in the data of her biological passport, a long-term monitoring tool of an athlete’s blood indicators that could indicate doping.
‘Not intentional’
“Having carefully considered all the evidence put before it, the CAS Panel determined that Ms. Halep had established, on the balance of probabilities, that the Roxadustat entered her body through the consumption of a contaminated supplement which she had used in the days shortly before 29 August 2022 and that the Roxadustat, as detected in her sample, came from that contaminated product,” CAS said.
“As a result, the CAS Panel determined that Ms. Halep had also established, on the balance of probabilities, that her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional.”
Halep has protested her innocence and refused to accept the ITIA decision which would have kept her off the courts until October 6, 2026.
On Tuesday, the ITIA acknowledged the CAS decision.
“An essential element of the anti-doping process is a player’s ability to appeal, and the ITIA respects both their right to do so, and the outcome,” said ITIA chief executive officer Karen Moorhouse.
‘Anti-diva’ returns
— When Simona Halep stunned Serena Williams to win the 2019 Wimbledon title, the gutsy Romanian was one of the All England Club’s more popular champions, cementing her standing as tennis’s “anti-diva.”
Before her suspension from the sport, Halep had already demonstrated incredible resolve to win the 2018 French Open having lost all three of her previous Slam finals.
She endeared herself by announcing on the eve of that Paris finale, where she saw off Sloane Stephens from a set down, that she “would be OK” if she lost again, as “no-one would have died.”
Halep, who also became world number one in August 2017, is only the second Romanian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, following in the footsteps of 1978 Roland Garros champion Virginia Ruzici.
She is a huge star in her home country — she has appeared on the front cover of the Romanian edition of Elle magazine and opened a restaurant called SH in her Black Sea hometown of Constanta.
“The fact that I am able to win maybe will give an inspiration also to Romanians, the kids, that it’s possible, even if you come from a little country, it’s possible if you work and if you believe,” she once said.
One of the main reasons why Halep had to wait so long to lift a major title was her relative lack of power when compared to the game’s other big stars.
But she found compensation: “I’m fast, though, no?”
Halep has claimed 24 singles titles and banked more than $40 million from her on-court performances.
But she was rarely seduced by the glitter of the sports world. Respected US magazine Sports Illustrated once described Halep as an “anti-diva.”
Halep has been questioned about her decision 15 years ago to undergo breast reduction surgery, with her saying they made her “uncomfortable” when she played.
For Halep, now 32, her character and famously good nature were tested to the limits when she was suspended in 2022 and then handed a four-year ban in September 2023.
She had protested her innocence, describing her absence from the sport as a “nightmare” and that she was waiting for the result of her appeal with her “head held high”.
“Good and truth always prevail.”