Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep is set to make her return to tennis following being cleared by sports’ highest court. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has accepted that Halep was not entirely at fault for her positive doping test, reducing her four-year ban to just nine months. This decision was made retroactively and expired in July last year.
The court’s judges concluded that Halep “established on the balance of probabilities” that the banned blood-boosting substance entered her body through the consumption of a contaminated supplement. In response to her appeal, the judges also awarded Halep 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,650) towards her legal fees and dismissed the charge once morest her relating to irregularities in her biological passport.
Halep expressed her excitement to return to the tour, stating that she cannot wait to get back on the court. She also mentioned that she has filed a lawsuit once morest the supplement maker, highlighting the impact of the scandalous accusations and the seemingly unlimited resources of tennis authorities that prosecuted her.
The Romanian tennis player has not played since the 2022 US Open, where she tested positive for the banned blood-booster roxadustat. Prior to the reduced ban, Halep was facing an exile from tennis until October 2026, once she turned 35.
While the CAS panel acknowledged that Halep bore some level of fault or negligence for her violations, they concluded that she bore no significant fault or negligence. They emphasized that although she did not exercise sufficient care when using the Keto MCT supplement, the contamination was not primarily her fault.
Following the court’s decision, Halep challenged the ban at CAS and attended a three-day closed-door hearing a month ago in Lausanne. Her successful career includes winning Wimbledon in 2019 and the French Open in 2018.
