Simona Halep to appeal four-year doping suspension to Court of Arbitration for Sport

It was revealed that Simona Halep would formally appeal the four-year suspension handed down by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for having committed two breaches in the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).

Sky Sport News announced the story on Tuesday, about six weeaks following the ITIA’s announcement that Halep, a former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion, would be ineligible to compete until October 2026 after testing positive for banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. Halep was further found to have had irregularities in her blood passport, leading the ITIA tribunal to assert that the Romanian was “likely doping” in its 126-page decision.

Halep has vehemently protested her innocence, and repeatedly sought to have her provisional suspension, first handed down in the fall of 2022, overturned. She even appeared on the 2023 US Open entry list before being removed ahead of the draw.

Now 32, Halep has continued to share practice and workout clips on social media, including one posted to Instagram on Monday.

The four-year ban is a concurrent sentence for the two TADP breaches, meaning Halep would likely need the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn both charges in order for her to return to competition before 2026.