Simona Halep sent out a hopeful message to her fans after putting up her defense before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The banned chemical roxadustat was found in Halep’s test at the US Open, according to an announcement made by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in October 2022. The two-time Grand Slam champion was first given a provisional suspension.
But Halep was given a four-year suspension in September 2023, which meant she couldn’t play competitive tennis again until October 2026.
But Halep insisted she was innocent, and she brought her case before the CAS, where three judges heard her defense. After the conclusion of her three-day hearing on February 10, CAS issued a statement.
The statement by CAS read: “No particular date was announced for the notification of the final decision.”
Halep wrote in an Instagram post: “The nightmare that I have lived for a year and a half has finished. I had the chance to present my defense in front of TAS (the Swiss acronym for CAS) to show that I never did any kind of doping. This is what I have said since the first day that I was accused.”
Halep added that she would be waiting with her head held high for the CAS’s decision. She also expressed her gratitude to all of her supporters for the past few months.
She added: “Now I am waiting for the decision with my head held high, and I wanted to thank you, my fans, players, former players, legends of this sport, my sponsors, and everyone else for your amazing support and all the messages and videos that you did for me during this harrowing time that I had. I thank you for your unconditional trust. This support has meant the world to me and given me the strength to keep fighting each day to show the truth! I will share the news about my case with you all as soon as I receive it. I wish you all the very best.
Good and truth always prevail.”
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Simona Halep in 2024
Ranked no.578, Halep played her last match on the 29th of August 2022 when she surrendered to world no.138 Daria Snigur 6-2 0-6 6-4 in the 1st round of the U.S. Open (draw).
Currently, during this season Simona has achieved a 39-11 win-loss record.
