Simona Halep was on cloud nine for two weeks. The former world number one was relieved that her doping ban had been shortened from four years to nine months and that she was therefore allowed to play tennis again immediately. She was pleased that the tournament director of the Miami Open immediately offered her a wildcard so that she could quickly compete in a high-class competition, even though she no longer appears in the world rankings after her 18-month forced break due to surgery and a doping trial. And Halep was even smiling when she congratulated her Spanish first-round opponent Paula Badosa on the court on Tuesday evening (local time in Florida) on her 1:6, 6:4, 6:3 victory.
Everything seemed good and almost as before, until shortly afterwards the satisfaction disappeared. The permanent smile disappeared when the Romanian found out what her colleagues thought of her all too brisk return to the WTA tour.
Halep likes to conceal one passage in the judgment
When asked for her opinion on Halep’s comeback, Caroline Wozniacki made a passionate plea for a clean sport, for the sake of equal competitive conditions and as a role model for young tennis talent. The Dane avoided accusing her colleague of cheating, but criticized the way the doping penalty was handled: “I don’t think people should be rewarded with a wildcard afterwards.” If someone wants to return, said Wozniacki, who like Halep Grand- Slam tournament winner and former world number one, “then he should work his way up from the bottom.”
Even though Simona Halep felt attacked and justified herself at her press conference with the words, “I have never doped, I am not a fraudster”: Caroline Wozniacki scored a hit. James Blake, the former tennis professional and current tournament director of the Miami Open, had previously boasted of his good hand in saving a place in the main draw for Simona Halep. Giving a popular tennis star the easiest return possible is certainly in the interests of every organizer, but in such cases it is bad for the sport, said Wozniacki, whose comeback last year was also made easier by wildcards after the births of her two children.
“I’ve never doped, so I’m not a cheater”: Simona Halep in Miami : Image: AFP
After the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) drastically shortened the doping ban imposed by the Tennis Integrity Agency, players and coaches took Halep’s side in droves and praised the Romanian for her bravery. Boris Becker also took part. Halep’s response to Wozniacki’s criticism was supported by Becker on X with the declaration of love “We love ya Simo!”
Many in the tennis scene tend to overlook the fact that the 32-year-old was not acquitted by Cas. The court only decided that the Romanian had not intentionally violated the anti-doping regulations. On a “balance of probabilities,” it was concluded that the drug Roxadustat, which stimulates the production of red blood cells, entered Halep’s body through consumption of a contaminated dietary supplement. Furthermore, according to Cas, the anomalies in the Romanian’s biological passport were not enough to prove a doping offense.
Couldn’t keep up with her opponent: Simona Halep : Image: AFP
Halep and those around her like to keep quiet about a passage in the Cas ruling. The Romanian woman had to live with a “certain degree of guilt” or “negligence,” the judges said in their verdict at the beginning of March. It is your responsibility to exercise caution when taking any substances. As Caroline Wozniacki describes it: “I pay attention to everything I eat. Even before I take paracetamol, I check it two or three times.” Halep responded snidely to her colleague’s comments. “It is insignificant that a person has a negative attitude towards me. I have hundreds of people around me who give me love.”
Published/Updated: Klaus Bellstedt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 A comment from Pirmin Clossé Published/Updated:
In this way, the 2018 French Open winner and 2019 Wimbledon winner avoids Wozniacki’s actual criticism of the wildcard allocation. Perhaps Simona Halep has a vague memory of once thinking like that herself. When the Russian Maria Sharapova, who according to the verdict was not an intentional doper, was made easier to reintegrate after her ban in 2017, Halep complained: “It’s not okay to help players with wild cards after a doping ban.”
