Simona Halep has been cleared to make her return to competition following a lengthy and stressful battle to fight a doping ban.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport recently ruled that Halep’s intake of the blood-boosting prohibited substance, roxadustat, was not intentional. This decision led to a reduction of her doping ban from four years to nine months, a period that has already elapsed. Halep tested positive for roxadustat on August 29, 2022, during the US Open, which prompted her to fight a draining battle to prove her innocence, attributing the incident to a contaminated supplement.
Halep took her case to the CAS, attending a three-day hearing in Lausanne, which ultimately led to this positive outcome for the tennis star. With her ban now reduced and applied retroactively, Halep’s period of ineligibility expired on July 6, 2023, making her eligible to return to competition immediately. “I cannot wait to return to the tour,” the two-time Grand Slam champion expressed eagerly upon learning of the CAS decision.
While Halep did have roxadustat in her system, the CAS Panel concluded that she did not bear significant fault or negligence in the matter. However, they did find her at fault for not exercising sufficient care when using the Keto MCT collagen supplement,…
