October 24, (THEWILL) – Former world number one, Simona Halep, has appealed her four-year ban from tennis for doping violations to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Romanian was handed the suspension last month by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after she tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.
The two-time Grand Slam champion’s appeal comes after the ITIA ruled she had committed anti-doping breaches due to the detection of roxadustat in her system and abnormalities in her athlete biological passport. Halep maintains her innocence and her legal team has now taken her case to CAS in the hope of getting the ban overturned or reduced.
CAS has confirmed the appeal but says there is no set time frame for a final verdict. Once arbitrators are appointed, they will review submissions and hold a hearing before making a judgment that will be binding on all parties.
Halep, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following year, has been provisionally suspended from the sport since October 7, 2022. She stands to lose all her results, titles and prize money from August 29th onwards if the ban is upheld.
The former world number one has consistently denied knowingly taking any prohibited substance. She will now pin her hopes on CAS finding in her favour.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
