March 05, (THEWILL) – Former world number one tennis player, Simona Halep, had her four-year doping ban significantly reduced to just nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), on Tuesday. The ruling means the 32-year-old Romanian is now eligible to return to competition immediately.
Halep was initially suspended for four years in October 2022 after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the US Open. She was also charged with a separate doping offence relating to irregularities in her athlete biological passport. However, CAS ruled the original four-year ban was too harsh.
“The CAS Panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Independent Tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine (9) months starting on 7 October 2022, which period expired on 6 July 2023,” CAS said in a statement.
While Halep admitted taking contaminated supplements, CAS said she did not bear “significant fault” for the positive test. The panel also dismissed the athlete biological passport charge, citing a sample given shortly after surgery when Halep had no plans to compete. Halep had vigorously denied the doping accusations against her throughout.
During her stellar career, Halep won the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon titles among 24 WTA singles crowns. She will now be able to resume her tennis career.
About the Author
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.
