Simona Halep Defeats In First Round of WTA 1000 in Miami After Return from Anti-Doping Suspension, Fires Back at Caroline Wozniacki’s Comments

Simona Halep lost in the first round of the WTA 1000 in Miami (Florida, United States) on Tuesday for her return from an anti-doping suspension, and was offended by Caroline Wozniacki’s comments on the easy reception of someone who had “cheated” . For her first match on the circuit since August 2022, the Romanian was defeated by the Spaniard Paula Badosa (1-6, 6-4, 6-3).

The former Romanian world No. 1 was able to play tennis again after her anti-doping suspension was reduced from 4 years to 9 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) two weeks ago. The Miami tournament invited Halep, now out of the WTA rankings. If the reception from the public was warm, between songs and Romanian flags, that of another former N.1, the Dane Caroline Wozniacki, refreshed the atmosphere in Florida.

“This is not a criticism directed at Simona, but when someone cheated on purpose, tested positive for a banned product… I understand that tournaments want stars but, and this is my personal opinion, I don’t think these people should benefit from invitations,” explained Wozniacki, winner of her first round against Frenchwoman Clara Burel. “When we want to come back, even after what was a mistake, I hear it, we have to start again at the bottom of the ladder (…) Simona’s suspension was reduced, she was not cleared “, reminded the Dane, back on the circuit since last summer after two maternity wards.

Simona Halep

Credit: Getty Images

Comments not appreciated by Halep. “Why did she say that? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t do any doping. You have to read the CAS decision carefully, it was a contaminated food supplement, I didn’t do drugs.” “The negative comment from one person is not important because hundreds of people have shown me love, I will stay on that,” added the double Grand Slam winner (Roland-Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019).

The Romanian had tested positive for a banned product during the 2022 US Open, suspended in October 2022, before “irregularities” in her biological passport increased her case the following spring. But the CAS attributed his positive test to a “contaminated food supplement”, and considered that the elements taken from his blood monitoring were not sufficient to establish doping behavior.

On the court, the double Grand Slam winner directly showed her best face during the first set, dispatched 6-1. In front of a small but noisy audience, including many compatriots, she had more difficulty as the match progressed, for a playing time of almost two hours. Halep notably suffered a massage on her right shoulder at the end of the second set, but was delighted with the quality of her first match after such a long absence.

“I felt very good. I had positive emotions. Seeing the public cheering for me gave me a lot of energy. My level of tennis was good, that probably surprised a lot of people.” “Considering the high level that Paula (Badosa) played at, I think I did a good job.”

2024-03-20 06:19:00
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