Simona Halep's return to tennis since having her doping suspension reduced has been frustrated by injuries, but the Romanian revealed she will play her first tournament in four months just a few days.
Halep was originally suspended for four years after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat. Patrick Mouratoglou, who currently coaches Naomi Osaka, gave her the collagen that led to the positive test.
However, Halep successfully appealed, reducing her suspension to nine months. She was immediately cleared to return, having been away from the sport for longer than nine months because of how long the case took.
The issue of doping is in the news once again after the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) announced they were appealing the decision to clear Jannik Sinner after he received no suspension for testing positive for clostebol.
It seems that WADA does not dispute Sinner's explanation for how the substance entered his system but feels the Italian bears more of the blame than the International Tennis Integrity Agency determined when they cleared him.
That marks another controversial moment in the case. Some fans were especially sympathetic to Halep after the news first broke in August since she was provisionally suspended for her positive tests while Sinner was not.
When asked about Sinner's case, Halep admitted she suffered a lot during her ordeal. Despite attempting to be diplomatic, she was clearly unhappy that Sinner did not receive the provisional suspension she did.
The two-time Grand Slam champion attempted to put the saga behind her by returning to tennis at the Miami Open. Halep lost her first professional match back in three entertaining sets against Paula Badosa.
Unfortunately for Halep, she sustained a knee injury in her second tournament back in May at the Trophee Clarins. The 2019 Wimbledon winner has not competed since then, stopping the comeback she hoped to achieve.
But there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel for the former world No. 1. Halep announced that her first event in over four months would be at the WTA 125 tournament in Hong Kong.
“Hello guys, I figured today was a great day to share the great news that I will be back on the court sooner than expected. “I will be flying to Hong Kong tomorrow to compete in the WTA125 Hong Kong Open. Big thanks to the tournament for the wildcard and I cannot wait to see you all there.”
Some may have expected Halep to skip the rest of the year at this late stage of the season and focus on preparing for 2025. But the 33-year-old, who celebrated her birthday on Friday, is determined to return earlier than that.
The WTA 125 event at the Hong Kong Open will be played from September 30th to October 6th. Ticket sales for the tournament will undoubtedly skyrocket after a player of Halep's stature announced her involvement.
Halep will hope for better luck with injuries during her latest comeback attempt. The Romanian probably feels she is due some good fortune after a challenging last few years.
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