Simona Halep Wins Doping Appeal, Can Return To Tennis Immediately

It’s a huge victory for Simona Halep. The former No. 1 has been fighting a 4-year doping suspension back-dated to October of 2022.

Today, the The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) released a statement declaring that Halep’s appeal, heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), was partially successful.

CAS said the ban should be reduced from four years to nine months, and since the Romanian star has been off court for well over a year, her time has been served.

Stated CAS: “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 (9) months starting on 7 October 2022, which period expired on 6 July 2023. As that period expired before the appeal procedures were even lodged with the CAS, the CAS Panel has determined it appropriate to issue the operative part of the Arbitral Award as soon as practicable, together with a comprehensive media release.”

They added that she had Roxadustat in system via a “contaminated product” and that its usage was “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. 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.”

The 2-time Grand Slam champion will not return at Indian Wells, but could get a wildcard into Miami and of course will have the clay season to look forward to in April.

Halep last played at the 2022 US Open. Halep is 32