Halep Set For Tennis Return Alongside Agassi & Graf In Romania

| by Nurein Ahmed

Simona Halep will make a special guest appearance in her home country during the summer to celebrate Romania's annual sporting celebration for the fifth time.

The Sports Festival is an important multi-sports event in Romania where thousands of cheerful people attend. Last year, it was reported a record number of 150,000 participants took part.

In 2024, the event will be held in Cluj-Napoca, with a tennis exhibition match scheduled for June 15th. Halep isn't the only high-profile name from the tennis world who will appear in the Transylvania region. Former tennis No. 1s Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf will also make the trip to Romania.

As reported by Romania Journal and Halep's subsequent post on the official Sports Festival page on Instagram, the duo of Agassi and Graf are confirmed attendees and will play during the event.

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"Hey Steffi, I’m waiting for you together with Andre in Romania, in my country. I’ve played  the Sports Festival before and it was amazing. I am sure you will like it too. I can’t wait to see you in Cluj, at the Sports Festival."

Halep is currently suspended from the tour after being handed a four-year doping suspension for breaching the anti-doping regulations. The Romanian star was deemed to have consumed the prohibited blood doping agent Roxadustat for the duration of the 2022 US Open.

The two-time Grand Slam champion was also sanctioned for a second count following inconsistencies in her athlete's biological passport. The decision to suspend Halep for up to four years was made by an independent tribunal last September and ratified by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

Halep has since appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and is scheduled to appear in person for the hearing next month. She will learn whether the suspension in place will be upheld or reduced. The 32-year-old is confident of overturning the ban and dreams of playing at the Olympics in Paris this year.

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