Being accused of doping in professional sports can be gut-wrenching for the player involved as it involves getting banned from the field they dedicated their whole lives to.
Former World No. 1 Simona Halep was the latest high-profile player to be investigated by the International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) for violating anti-doping rules.
Her case first surfaced in October 2022 when she tested positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. Roxadustat, which is used to treat symptomatic anemia that occurs in patients with chronic kidney disease, is among the banned substances in professional tennis.
Aside from doping, she was also punished for irregularities in her athlete biological passport (ABP).
The Professional Tennis Players Association tried to defend the Romanian star, but the ITIA pushed for her suspension, eventually getting a four-year ban.
Simona Halep's appeal
Her camp maintained her innocence, even calling the case a "scandalous accusation."
She was allowed to make an appeal, which her camp laid out in February 2024, and on March 5, she won the appeal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that she should be barred from professional tennis for just nine months instead of four years.
The nine months still baffled some fans as the CAS ruled that what she did was unintentional.
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"The roxadustat, as detected in her sample, came from that contaminated product," the Court of Arbitration for Sport said.
"As a result, the CAS Panel determined that Ms Halep had also established, on the balance of probabilities, that her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional."
"Although the Cas Panel found that Ms Halep did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care when using the Keto MCT supplement, it concluded that she bore no significant fault or negligence."
Halep avoided getting the second-longest ban in professional tennis history for anti-doping violations. The longest were lifetime bans imposed on Ryan Newport and Laurentiu Basarab. Compared to Halep, though, those two are relatively unknown.
The ITIA accepted the CAS ruling and was ordered to contribute $22,500 to Halep's legal fees and proceedings.
Simona Halep's return
The CAS ruling will take effect immediately. This means Halep can return anytime soon, as the back-dated ruling means her suspension ended on July 6, 2023.
"My faith in the process was tested by the scandalous accusations that were levelled against me, and by the seemingly unlimited resources that were aligned against me," Halep said.
"I cannot wait to return to the tour."
She is considered one of the most competitive female tennis players ever, having won the French Open and the Wimbledon Open in 2019.
She stayed in the Top 10 WTA rankings for 373 consecutive weeks from 2014 to 2018.
Halep has a total career earnings of $40.8 million.
The 32-year-old, currently unranked, last played a competitive match at the 2022 US Open.
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