Tennis star Halep awaits CAS verdict after 3-day hearing to challenge 4-year doping ban
Former WTA number 1 tennis player Simona Halep of Romania arrives surrounded by the media for a hearing in the arbitration procedures against International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, will examine the case of Romanian tennis star Simona Halep after she filed an appeal against her four-year suspension for doping. Credit: AP/Laurent Gillieron
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Two-time tennis Grand Slam champion Simona Halep left sport’s highest court on Friday unsure when she will know if she has won her appeal against a four-year ban for doping.
The former world No. 1 spent almost three full days in the hearing at the Court Arbitration for Sport in front of three judges now considering their verdict.
“No particular date was announced with respect to the notification of the final decision,” the court said in a statement. Verdicts typically take at least several weeks.
Halep, who will turn 35 before the ban being challenged expires in October 2026, left the court with her American lawyer Howard Jacobs.
“Well, it was a long hearing and what I can say is that I had the chance to show my defense,” the Romanian star said. “I really believe that the truth is going to come out.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency banned Halep last year after she tested positive for roxadustat at the 2022 U.S. Open. Investigators later detected alleged irregularities in her biological passport, which can reveal abnormal blood values measured over several years.
Roxadustat can help produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, which has long been a doping product favored by endurance athletes.
Former WTA number 1 tennis player Simona Halep, center, of Romania arrives with her lawyer Howard Jacobs, second from right, for a hearing in the arbitration procedures against International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, will examine the case of Romanian tennis star Simona Halep after she filed an appeal against her four-year suspension for doping. Credit: AP/Laurent Gillieron
Halep denies wrongdoing and blamed contaminated nutritional supplements. Athletes need to prove the source of contamination to show they were not at fault for doping.
“I cannot speak more so I have to wait (for) the decision and then I will be able to give more information,” she said outside court.
Halep won Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final, and the 2018 French Open.
