Simona Halep set to drop out of top 50 of WTA Rankings with impending doping issues

Simona Halep continues to drop in the WTA rankings and will fall out of the top 50 this week.

The Romanian has been one of the most consistent tennis players in recent years. In her career, she has won 24 titles and reached 18 WTA finals, including two Grand Slam trophies: the 2018 Roland Garros where she defeated Sloane Stephens, and the 2019 Wimbledon where she emerged victorious against Serena Williams. She has also reached the finals of the 2014 French Open (lost to Sharapova), 2017 French Open (lost to Ostapenko), and 2018 Australian Open (lost to Wozniacki).

Between 2014 and 2021, Simona Halep remained in the top 5, and she even finished as the world No. 1 at the end of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. However, injuries kept her away from the tour in 2021 and caused her ranking to drop, leading her to consider retirement, as she mentioned

Nevertheless, as she regained her form in 2022, she achieved impressive results that propelled her to the world No. 6 position, winning two titles (WTA 250 Melbourne I and WTA 1000 Toronto Open). She also had a win-loss record of 39-11.

Due to the doping suspension she received, the former world No. 1's return date to the tour remains uncertain, as she has not yet been judged by the tribunal. She faces a possible suspension of up to 3 years. Her last match was at the US Open, where she suffered a defeat in the first round against Daria Snigur. With only 1000 remaining points, it is likely that Halep will drop out of the WTA rankings once the Toronto Open concludes, as those were her last ranking points obtained.