The US Open
Two time Grand Slam winner Halep doping ban reduced
Double Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has had her four-year ban for doping reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The decision means former world number one Halep, 32, can return to tennis immediately, possibly as soon as the Miami Open later this month.
The backdated nine-month ban expired on 6 July, 2023.
Halep’s test results dated from 29 August, 2022 during the US Open – when she gave a positive sample for roxadustat
Her ranking points and prize money in this period, therefore remain disqualified.
Halep, won the 2018 French Open and Wimbledon in 2019, and has always maintained her innocence after being charged with two separate doping offences.
Whilst her case was partially upheld by Cas, it also ruled that “on the balance of probabilities” Halep had not taken roxadustat intentionally.
The Romanian had faced two charges: one for testing positive for roxadustat and another for irregularities in her athlete biological passport and was originally banned until October 2026,.
Roxadustat is anti-anaemia drug which stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body.
Had the original decision been upheld Halep feared that would end her career.
Cas said it was “not comfortably satisfied” Halep had committed an offence and the panel “therefore dismissed that charge”.
Halep, who has earned £32.2m in career prize money, is at liberty to return to the WTA Tour after the nine-month ban was backdated.
In response to the ruling, Halep hit out at what she called “scandalous accusations”.
“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,”
“I cannot wait to return to the tour.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which was responsible for testing within the sport and brought the investigation, said it “respected” the decision.
Main photo:- Simona Halep playing in the US Open – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
The peace talks came after a Friday interview boycott by most top players, who limited their pre-event interactions with media to 15 minutes while snubbing TV broadcasters.
Players are asking for a larger share of Grand Slam prize money, aiming for a rise from 15 to 22 per cent, a figure well below payouts in other spots.
French federation (FFT) officials promised a response to the demands in the immediate future. Confrontations with Wimbledon and the US Open are also likely to proceed during the Paris fortnight.
The Australian Open has already sided with the players when the issue first arose earlier this season.
The FFT “has committed to responding to the players’ proposals in the coming weeks,” the ruling body said.
Players are seeking a closer involvement in the big decisions of the sport along with increased health insurance and retirement benefits.
Sinner, with USD 56 million already in career prize money at age 24, might do well to follow the example of retired icon Roger Federer, who earned 130 million on court and much more off it,
The Swiss, reportedly now a tennis billionaire, often said he would not be needing his ATP pension but was happy to work on behalf of other players.
Emma Raducanu has gone back to the future with her latest choice of coach, choosing to re-group with the mentor who helped her to a US Open title five long years ago.
The Briton whose career has been a patchwork of changing coaches and near-constant injuries and illness since her 2021 big day in New York, revealed she has re-employed Andrew Richardson, her OG coach.
The pair split not long after then-teenaged Raducanu won the Open title from an unprecedented qualifying start.
She has since struggled and wil head to Roland Garros from next Sunday with only one clay tournament, a late wild-card entry into Strasbourg.
“Grateful to have reconnected with someone who has known me for over a decade now and looking forward to building together one iteration at a time,” she posted on social media.
The WTA no. 30 has played just 15 matches this season – none on clay – with her last one more than two months ago.
Main photo:- Emma Raducanu with her coach, Andrew Richardson at the 2021 US Open
Wimbledon will bow to the high-tech future by introducing limited electronic reviews of line calls on major courts at the Championships, the club revealed on Saturday.
The All England Club will allow the technology on showcourts including Centre Court, No. 1 and four others. During controversial moments, competitors will be allowed to ask the chair umpire for a review of the point in question.
The wizardry is coming late to Wimbledon having been used at the US Open since 2023 and later adapted by the Australian Open. Roland Garros relies on marks in its clay surface to determine line calls.
Under the rules, players can ask for the review any number of times, with electronic line-calling now in effect at the grass-court major for a second year after the 2025 elimination of human line judges.
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