‘Eight is a better number’: Serena Williams takes dig at Simona Halep Tennis News

Did legendary American tennis player Serena Williams really take a dig at Simona Halep? Well, one can only speculate. Halep was banned for four years for violating anti-doping rules. Williams has since apparently mocked the Romanian on social media.

“Eight is a better number,” Williams wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

To the untrained eye, Halep prevented Williams from winning her eighth Wimbledon title in 2019. The former world number one defeated Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the women’s singles final.

Williams, who retired after last year’s US Open, now appears to be in contention for her eighth Wimbledon title should Halep be stripped of the trophy due to suspension.

Meanwhile, Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian also appeared to mock Halep by sharing a post on social media. Ohanian created a throwback photo of himself wearing a DARE (Drug Resistance Education) T-shirt during the 2019 U.S. Open first-round match, when Williams defeated former Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova.

“Some fashions are timeless,” Ohanian’s post was captioned. It is speculated that Ohanian’s T-shirt is a reference to the two-year doping ban Sharapova had to face in 2016.

“It’s not dated, to be honest,” Williams commented.

Halep is a two-time Grand Slam champion. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said Halep was suspended for two separate anti-doping violations. Halep has been temporarily suspended since October. She was provisionally suspended from the 2022 U.S. Open after testing positive for the banned blood enhancer Roxadustat.

However, Halep does not accept the ruling and plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“I am continuing to train and doing everything I can to clear my name of these false accusations and return to court. I intend to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and seek all legal remedies against the supplement companies involved.” the 31-year-old wrote in a statement.

Six years ago, Simona Halep topped the WTA rankings. Halep won her first Grand Slam title by defeating American Sloane Stephens in the 2018 French Open final. A year later, Halep won her second Grand Slam at Wimbledon.