Simona Halep’s four-year doping ban has been reduced to nine months after the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) ruled that she was not guilty of intentional doping. She will be allowed to resume her career and return immediately to professional tennis.
Halep, a former world No 1 and two-time grand slam title winner, had received the suspension last September after testing positive for roxadustat. The ruling marked one of the most significant doping bans in the history of tennis and the sport’s first anti‑doping rule violation via the athlete biological passport (ABP) programme. At 32, a four-year ban would likely have meant the end of Halep’s career.
