Why is Simona Halep’s doping suspension reduced? When can she resume playing tennis?

Simona Halep can resume her tennis career at any time now that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has reduced her four-year doping ban to nine months, with the two-time Grand Slam champion having already missed more time than that .

“I can’t wait to get back on tour,” Halep said.

A three-judge panel at the Lausanne, Switzerland, court ruled on her appeal on Tuesday, so it’s too early to tell when Halep will return to competition. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest judicial body in the sports world, has not released the full results of its investigation, only a summary, so it is too early to know all the ins and outs of the reasons behind the decision.

Here’s what you need to know about what happened:

Who is Simona Halep?

Halep is a 32-year-old from Romania who has reached the pinnacle of her sport, reaching No. 1 in the WTA rankings and winning the 2019 Wimbledon final over Serena Williams. Grand Slam title, and won the 2019 French Open. In 2018, defeated Sloane Stephens in the final. Halep’s game is primarily based on defense and quick court coverage.

What is Roxadustat?

Halep tested positive for the banned drug Roxadustat at the 2022 U.S. Open, where she lost to Ukraine’s Daria Snigur 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in the first round ). It was Snigur’s first career Tour-level victory. Roxadustat was approved for use in the EU in 2021 to treat anemia symptoms caused by chronic renal failure. It stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which has long been a favored performance-enhancing stimulant product among cyclists and distance runners. She was sentenced to a four-year ban that expires in 2026, which will likely spell the end of her professional tennis career.

Why did Halep’s appeal succeed?

Halep’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, argued that she was exposed to contaminated supplements, causing her test to fail. CAS found Halep guilty of “a certain degree of fault or negligence” for not taking “sufficient care” when using the supplement, but “she did not commit any gross fault or negligence”. Therefore, CAS said, “her anti-doping violations were not intentional”.

What is an athlete biometric passport?

In October 2022, Halep was temporarily banned from her sport due to the test that year. Subsequently, in May 2023, she was accused of doping for the second time by the International Tennis Integrity Agency due to irregularities in the athlete’s biological passport. The passports provide a baseline reading of what’s in an athlete’s body and are considered a way to help chart doping, as fluctuations over time can raise red flags. ITIA wants her initial penalty extended to six years. But Tuesday’s ruling noted that she underwent two tests about two weeks apart in September 2022, which left CAS “less than satisfied” that an “anti-doping violation” related to her passport had occurred.

Were legal operations performed?

Probably not. Halep’s lawyer, Jacobs, said on Tuesday that Halep “has filed a lawsuit against the supplement company.” Jacobs also noted that the CAS panel’s decision means her suspension will end in July 2023, so she “should be eligible” for last year’s US Open and this January’s Australian Open. The next Grand Slam tournament is the French Open, which starts in May.

Halep said in a statement released by Jacobs: “Throughout this long and difficult process, I have always believed that the truth will eventually come out and a fair decision will be reached, because I am and have always been A clean athlete.” “My faith in the process was tested by the scandalous accusations against me and the seemingly unlimited resources directed at me. But in the end, the truth prevailed, even though it took longer than I had hoped. Much longer.”

___

Howard Fendrich has been a tennis writer for The Associated Press since 2002. Find his story here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich.

___

AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis