Simona Halep felt attacked by former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who stated that dopers should not be given tournament wildcards, and while the Romanian confidently defended her stance, there’s a big group of tennis fans who remain unconvinced about her innocence.
Playing her first tennis match in 18 months, after having her four-year doping ban reduced to nine months, Halep lost 1-6 6-4 6-3 to Paula Badosa in the first round of the Miami Open. Wozniacki then commented that players that served a doping ban “should work their way up from the bottom” and not receive wildcards, although the Dane didn’t explicitly refer to Halep.
The two-time Grand Slam champion Halep, whose intake of the prohibited substance roxadustat was eventually ruled to be unintentional, responded at her post-match press conference in Miami:
Why she said that? Because I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope.
Halep thanked the tournament for giving her a wildcard and kept her positive attitude:
Only one person being negative about me is not that important, because I have hundreds of people giving me love.
Asked about Wozniacki’s words: “I didn’t even think about that subject anymore and i can only repeat that she should read the decision…
