As Simona Halep made her return to tennis albeit an unsuccessful one in the outset against Paula Badosa, Caroline Wozniacki was asked about her return after her first win over Clara Burel at the Miami Open 6-1, 6-4 with Anhelina Kalinina up next in the second round.
The 33-year-old said that she has always had a good relationship with Halep and that it isn't a slight on her, but that she doesn't believe big name or not that those who dope whether intentional or not should get any benefits or in this case a wildcard straight away and should work their way up instead.
“First of all, I’ve always liked Simona. We've always had a good relationship. I've been very outspoken in the past how I feel about doping and all of that. I think my view on doping is the same. I have always wanted a clean sport, fair for everybody. I think it's definitely still my opinion," said Wozniacki.
"Again, this is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping... I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it's my personal belief, and it's not a knock on anyone, but it's my personal belief that I don't think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards. If you want to come back, and it's been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom.
"That's my personal opinion upon things. Simona's situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn't a clearance, it was a reduced sentence. She's now been off of the game for a while and she's coming back. Again, I just hope for a clean sport. That's all I want. I want to have good role models for the young generation. It's a sport that has a lot of money in it, a lot of competitiveness, a lot of competitors. I want a fair fight.
"I've always been a very honest athlete and always looked at everything that I've taken. Even taking Tylenol is something I double and triple check three times. All I want is for my kids to look up and say, You know what, I want to play tennis and I want to play fair. I've still got a chance. I want to be out there competing fair and square with everyone else. That's my view on things, how I'm raising my kids as well. Fight fair. No matter where you're going to be, what you want to do, just do it with the right mindset, yeah. That's where I am.”
Caroline Wozniacki says she doesn’t believe players should be awarded wildcards after testing positive for doping “Another comeback in Simona. Your thoughts there?” Caroline: “First of all, I’ve always liked Simona. We've always had a good relationship. I've been very outspoken…
