“Dirty queen of drugs”- Simona Halep’s comeback elicits mixed reactions from tennis world as she makes a satisfying comeback

The Romanian won the opening set against Paula Badosa 6-1.

“Dirty queen of drugs”- Simona Halep’s comeback elicits mixed reactions from tennis world as she makes a satisfying comeback

Simona Halep (Image via Imago)

Romanian tennis ace Simona Halep made a comeback to tennis on Tuesday, as she was recently cleared to play at the highest level after serving nine months of ban over doping. The 32-year-old played her first match after comeback in the first round of the 2024 Miami Open, against Spanish ace Paula Badosa.

Halep had a great start to the match as she won the first set in a jiffy. The two-time singles Grand Slam champion clinched the opening set 1-6. However, Simona Halep could not convert her brilliant start into a win and lost the match in three sets of 6-1, 4-6, 3-6.

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Nevertheless, she was happy about coming back and playing the sport again. But Halep could not escape the taunts about her getting a wildcard entry despite serving a ban over doping. Caroline Wozniacki criticized the wildcard return of the Romanian, saying that Halep should have worked her way up.

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If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom. That’s my personal opinion upon things. Simona’s situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn’t a clearance, it was a reduced sentence.
Caroline Wozniacki said post her first round win at Miami

Simona Halep gets mixed reactions from fans on her comeback

This statement from Wozniacki stung Halep, who made it clear that she did not cheat, and that the banned substance entered her body through a supplement. The Romanian asked Wozniacki to read the verdict from CAS.

Simona Halep
Simona Halep (via Imago)

Halep also talked about not getting affected due to one person’s opinion. The former World No. 1 Romanian said that she is getting love from a lot of people and she will happily take that. 

Why did she say that? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope. So it’s better if we read the decision from CAS that it was a contaminated supplement, it wasn’t doping...Only one person being negative about me is not that important because I have hundreds of people that are giving me love, so I will take that.
Simona Halep said in response to Wozniacki’s comments.

Amid this back and forth between Halep and Wozniacki, fans shared their views on the matter. While a few stood in solidarity with the Romanian ace, claiming she was the victim in this doping fiasco, a few labeled the cheater tag on her.

Check out the reactions from fans to Simona Halep making a comeback after serving a ban over doping.

https://twitter.com/lagarlitz0236/status/1770324460475732185

Notably, Simona Halep got her four-year ban reduced to nine months after a hearing at the CAS. The Romanian then found her way back to the tour through a wildcard entry into the Masters tournament in Miami. Although Halep has been knocked out in the first round, the Romanian will take confidence from her first-set win over Paula Badosa.

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