Mats Wilander Calls for Lessons Learned from Simona Halep Case to Protect Women’s Tennis

“What if that had happened to Simona Halep, who was ten years younger? That would have changed the development of women’s tennis and tennis in general,” said the Swede.

Halep tested positive for a contaminated dietary supplement in October 2022 and was banned for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in 2023.

Wilander called on the ITIA doping commission to learn from the case: “You could have destroyed her career, you could have thrown women’s tennis a step back, because she is a huge superstar in terms of her fighting spirit and the level.”

Mats Wilander wants to prevent the second Halep case

The tests need to be better, said the seven-time Grand Slam winner.

“From all the information we have received about this case so far, it is clear that Simona should not have been banned for 17 months,” said Wilander: “The amount (of the banned substance, editor’s note) was so small “It doesn’t change anything, and there’s no way you could do it on purpose.”

The handling of the case not only harmed the 32-year-old, “but also women’s tennis, which ultimately harms tennis as a whole.”

Wilander: No parallels to the Sharapova case

The Russian woman “screwed it up herself. She should have stopped taking the drug (Melodium, editor’s note) a month after the official ban, or she should have been given permission to continue receiving treatment for her illness.” , the 59-year-old clarified.

With Halep it was an “unintentional mistake”. He therefore also hopes that the Romanian will receive a wildcard for the French Open, which Halep won in 2018: “I think she deserves it.” Caroline Wozniacki recently expressed her irritation about it.

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2024-03-20 14:55:00
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