Simona Halep’s doping ban cleared

By Samkelo “Sports Mjita” Gambushe

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has reduced Simona Halep’s doping ban from four years to nine months. The two-time Grand Slam champion was banned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency until October 2026, after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open in August 2022. The court ruled Halep on the balance of probabilities had not taken roxadustat intentionally. Having already served a provisional suspension since October 2022, the Romanian can return to tennis immediately as the nine-month ban expired on the sixth of July last year.

Picture: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire