As soon as the verdict of Simona Halep’s appeal of her doping ban was disclosed, the announcement of her return to tennis followed shortly after. Samona Halep will be making a comeback this week at the Miami Open. The two-time Grand Slam champion will be returning to action for the first time since the 2022 US Open. The Romanian will play her first round against Paula Badosa, former world No. 2. The winner will go on to face No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
We should thank the Miami tournament director James Blake for it as he says, “That one’s on me,” on ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘. “When it comes to some of the tennis decisions they’re going to trust me.”
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Simona Halep Returns to Tennis with Renewed Vigor Following Doping Ban Reduction
Halep’s doping ban was officially reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from four years to nine months. It was ruled that she didn’t consciously take a banned substance. She had served the nine months within this appeal period, allowing her to immediately return to tennis. Capitalizing on this opportunity, she accepted a wild card into the Miami Open.
“I had a feeling we needed to be ready for whether she’s going to ask [for a wild card],” Blake said. “We had already gone through a lot of our wild card discussions, and we did, luckily, save one woman’s wild card because you never know what’s going to happen.”
The only concern for Blake was whether she was ready to compete. “You don’t want to put someone out there who hasn’t been practicing,” he said. “It’s going to be detrimental to them. We don’t want them going out and getting killed.”
Blake sought out Darren Cahill, Halep’s former coach. Cahill confirmed that the Romanian has been preparing for months and was ready for a speedy return.
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“We all came to the same conclusion to welcome her back,” Blake said.
All the attention will be on the former world No. 1 as she “rejoins the tour with renewed vigor and an invigorated spirit,” as she had said in an Instagram post.
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