Doping ban reduced for former Wimbledon champion

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep’s four-year ban for doping has been reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The decision means Romanian former world number one Halep, 32, can return to tennis as soon as possible.

In response to the ruling, Halep hit out at “scandalous accusations”.

While her case was partially upheld, Cas ruled Halep “on the balance of probabilities” had not taken roxadustat intentionally.

Halep, who won the 2018 French Open and Wimbledon in 2019, always maintained her innocence after being charged with two separate doping offences.

She faced two charges: one for testing positive for roxadustat and another for irregularities in her athlete biological passport (ABP).

Halep, who was originally banned until October 2026, feared her career would be over if the original decision was upheld.

“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.”

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which is responsible for testing within the sport and brought the investigation, said it “respected” the decision.

Halep tested positive for roxadustat – an anti-anaemia drug which stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body – at the US Open in August 2022.

An investigation by the ITIA concluded the contamination was likely to have come from a collagen supplement called Keto MCT.

In a ruling announced on Tuesday, Cas said: “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.

“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.”

Halep was charged in May 2023 with a second separate offence when the ITIA said irregularities were found in her athlete biological passport.

The ABP programme collects and compares biological data to spot discrepancies in an athlete’s blood over time that suggest possible doping.

Three experts – Dr Jakob Morkeberg, Dr Laura Garvican-Lewis and Professor Giuseppe d’Onofrio – assessed 51 valid samples of Halep’s blood and each concluded there was “likely doping”.

Halep’s defence suggested the irregularities spotted were caused by factors including blood loss during an operation and periods when she was not training.

Cas said it was “not comfortably satisfied” Halep had committed an offence and the panel “therefore dismissed that charge”.

Halep, who has earned £32.2m in career prize money, is free to return to the WTA Tour after the nine-month ban was backdated.

She was charged with two offences by the ITIA on 7 October 2022 and has not played since.

The backdated nine-month ban expired on 6 July 2023.

Halep’s results from 29 August 2022 – when she gave a positive sample – 7 October 2022, along with her ranking points and prize money in this period, remain disqualified.

Before the Cas decision was announced on Tuesday, she conceded the four-year ban remaining in place would likely end her career.

But, speaking after the three-day appeal hearing in February, Halep said she was confident of clearing her name and making a return to tennis.

In the past few weeks, she has posted videos of on-court training sessions and now it looks likely one of the biggest names on the WTA Tour is set to compete again at the highest level.

Halep will also receive 20,000 Swiss francs (£17,800) from the ITIA as a contribution towards her legal fees and other expenses in the proceedings.

“An essential element of the anti-doping process is a player’s ability to appeal, and the ITIA respects both their right to do so, and the outcome,” said ITIA chief executive officer Karen Moorhouse.

“We await the full reasoned decision and will review it thoroughly in due course.”