Serena Williams' comment regarding Simona Halep's doping ban has been analyzed by tennis journalist Jon Wertheim.

The Romanian player was hit with a four-year doping ban last month after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat in 2022. She had been serving a provisional suspension since last October. Halep was also given a second doping charge earlier this year due to irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport.

In a statement, the tribunal revealed that they were "comfortably satisfied" that the 31-year-old was guilty of "intentional anti-doping violations", following analysis of 51 blood samples provided by the player.

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Wertheim weighs up Williams' criticism

After the news broke of Halep's ban, players had mixed reactions. Sorana Cirstea, Patrick Mouratoglou, and Darren Cahill were among those defending her, while 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams took to social media to subtly call out the player.

"8 is a better number," the 42-year-old wrote on X. This not only suggested that Halep's sentence should be doubled, but also referred back to their clash in the final of Wimbledon 2019, where Halep defeated Williams in straight sets. If the result was reversed, the American would have won her eighth title at the grasscourt major.

Tennis journalist Wertheim was recently asked if he thought tennis should strip banned players of their titles, as is frequently done in other sports like athletics.

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He had a mixed response, saying that while he agreed that cheating players should be stripped of their titles, points, and prize money, there needed to be sufficient evidence in order to do so.

"We should have no issue stripping dirty athletes of their titles and points and prize money. But it needs to be backed up with evidence. There is nothing to suggest that Simona Halep was cheating in 2019, the year she beat Serena in the Wimbledon final," he said.

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8 is a better number.

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