"I cannot wait to return to the tour": Elated Simona Halep sets sights on immediate tennis return as doping purgatory ends
WTATuesday, 05 March 2024 at 19:00
Simona Halep has set her sights on an immediate return to tennis with the former World No.1 and multiple Grand Slam champion able to resume her career immediately after being in a doping purgatory since September 2022.
Halep had her ban reduced from four years to nine months earlier today and with the Romanian having already served over nine months, she is free to resume her career. She has said beforehand that her career might have ended had the ban stuck for taking the substance, Roxudustat in a collagen supplement issued to Halep.
But also she had her own hopes and dreams including of the Paris Olympics if she was to have the appeal go her way and it now has and it is very much elation and the end of a long ordeal for Halep that she wants to put behind her.
"My faith in the process was tested by the scandalous accusations that were levelled against me, and by the seemingly unlimited resources that were aligned against me," Halep said.
"I cannot wait to return to the tour."
"Having carefully considered all the evidence put before it, the 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," said CAS in a statement following the announcement.
"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.
"Although the Cas Panel found that Ms Halep did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care when using the Keto MCT supplement, it concluded that she bore no significant fault or negligence."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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