Simona Halep officially challenges the CAS over her doping suspension of four years after being found guilty

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has confirmed that Simona Halep has filed an appeal against the 4-year ban handed to her by ITIA. 

Simona Halep officially challenges the CAS over her doping suspension of four years after being found guilty

Simona Halep(Image via: Eurosport)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has confirmed that the two-time Grand Slam singles champion Simona Halep has filed an appeal against the 4-year ban handed to her by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The verdict, announced last month, confirmed that an independent tribunal had found the player had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations under Article 2 of the TADP.

For context, the Romanian had tested positive for the banned substance Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open, resulting in a provisional suspension from October 2022 until the announcement of the verdict. Speaking in her defense, she said that the results, which were collated by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, showed “extremely low” levels of the substance in her system.

After the announcement of the verdict, Halep issued a strongly worded statement reiterating her innocence and vowed to challenge the verdict.

FS Video
I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance. I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban.
Simone Halep wrote on X

While the CAS hasn’t confirmed the timeframe of the verdict, at the time of writing, it shared the following statement: 

In her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Simona asked that her decision be set aside & her sanction be reduced.

For the uninitiated, the CAS is considered as the last resort for litigations related to sporting activities.

Simona Halep returns to the practice courts as she hopes for her 4-year ban to be overturned

Former World No. 1 Simona Halep took to Instagram to share a video of her practicing groundstrokes in practice courts as she awaits a decision on her 4-year sentence by the ITIA to be overturned. In some encouraging signs for her fans, the Romanian looked as sharp as ever as she belted forehands down the line. 

Simona Halep
Simona Halep (via imago)

Doping isn’t taken lightly in the field of sports and rightfully so, the former women’s champion has been given a 4-year ban. Her video was taken positively by her fans who continue to support the former champ with words of confidence and belief.

The fact that I’m not in the rankings anymore is a big blow. I worked for 20 years to build this ranking, year after year, without a break. There was a tremendous emotional and mental toll.
The two-time Grand Slam champion said in an interview with Eurosport Romania.

Simona’s prolonged absence from the game has seen her drop out of the WTA top 1000 rankings.

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