Simona Halep suffers more income losses amid doping ban after partnership with Hublot axed

Simona Halep has seemingly suffered another blow to her income after she was removed from luxury watch company Hublot's partnership list amid her four-year doping ban.

The former World No. 1 was hit with a provisional suspension in October 2022 after she tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat. In 2023, she was issued with a second charge due to irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). After multiple delays, a tribunal came to a verdict in September, banning the 31-year-old from the sport for four years.

Halep has continued to maintain her innocence and has launched an appeal against the ban, claiming that she was "both shocked and disappointed by [the tribunal's] decision. I am eternally grateful for the outpouring of support I have received from my family, friends, and tennis fans around the world. I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court."

Despite her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Romanian player's inability to compete has appeared to cause her to suffer a loss in income, which was demonstrated when she put one of her houses up for sale recently. Now, her name has disappeared from Hublot's partnership list.

The company has produced luxury Swiss watches since 1980 and has several high-profile partnerships in the tennis world. The remaining players on their ambassador list include World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, as well as Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, and Borna Coric. Djokovic previously expressed his delight at joining the team.

"As an athlete driven by the ambition to make history in tennis, I am particularly proud of the opportunity to join the Hublot family, which already boasts athletes who have left their mark on their respective disciplines by becoming legends like Kylian Mbappé or Usain Bolt. With Hublot, we still have so much to win, together!" he said.

Halep is yet to confirm an end to her partnership with Hublot. In fact, she recently shared a post on her Instagram story advertising a piece that she had received from the company, containing the engraving "Congrats on your number 1 ranking".

The two-time Grand Slam champion has also been posting several videos of her continued training on social media to highlight that she has faith in her appeal and has not given up all hopes of being back in competition at some point within the next four years.