Halep’s high hopes on return to tennis

Simona Halep was buoyant at the end of a three-day hearing in front of international sport’s highest authority, with the former No. 1 hoping to make a return to tennis as she challenged a doping ban.

The 32-year-old Romanian who won Wimbledon in 2019 and Roland Garros the year before, is fighting a sanction after testing positive for the banned substance  roxadustat – an anti-anemia medication considered a blood doping agent – at the 2022 US Open.

She was also called out for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, a set of baseline readings taken over time.

Halep and her team have denied all accusations from the start; her lawyers spelled out her defence before the Court for Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne this week.

“I had the chance to show my defence and I really believe that the truth is going to come out,” she said.

“The day to be on court is going to be soon.”

CAS is set to rule on the case and if Halep is successful her ban due to end in 2026 will be rescinded.

Halep has said all along that she took a contaminated, legal supplement.