Former world number 1 Simona Halep was looking forward to returning to the tennis court at the US Open this year. However, the provisional ban on Halep still persists, which is why her name was automatically excluded from the list of participants. But it seems Simona did not take the news of her exclusion too badly and went on a trip instead.
Halep was on the US Open entry list, hopeful to make a comeback despite the suspension placed on her. But when the qualifying draw was announced, Halep’s name had been withdrawn. With Halep out, her spot has been given to Taylor Townsend.
Simona took a trip to Capri, Italy, in order to overcome the news of her exclusion. The 2-time Grand Slam champion posted a reel from her holiday on Instagram.
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Halep shared the reel with the caption, “Capri, hai il mio cuore,” (Capri, you have my heart). The Romanian can be seen taking in the sights around Capri on a cruise boat.
Simona’s career has been in limbo since October last year. Even prominent journalists took to social media to condemn the inaction of the responsible authorities.
Halep’s independent hearing was in June.
Guilty or not, she is provisionally suspended since October, which is absolutely ridiculous. https://t.co/bivCLwOqZs
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 21, 2023
Since Halep has not played a professional match since August, she was set to lose all her WTA points. She currently holds the 1140th position in the world, with only 10 points to her name. Halep feels that the ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), has damaged her reputation.
Why is Simona Halep banned?
Halep was banned for testing positive for a banned substance, called Roxadustat, at last year’s US Open. She was seeded 7th at the time and lost her last match to Daria Snigur of Ukraine in the first round itself. The drug Roxadustat is approved for use in the European Union though. It is mainly used to treat anemia caused by chronic kidney failure.
Halep’s woes did not end here and she was slapped with a second doping offence by the ITIA in May this year. The reason that was cited was due to irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport.
The biological passport exists to chart anomalies in the body of an athlete. It uses a baseline reading and anything above the standard reading is immediately flagged.
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Halep took to social media to explain her side. She stated that the anomaly in her biological passport was due to contamination, which was attested to by experts. The former champion accused the ITIA of postponing her hearing three times already.
Due to this dilly-dallying on the part of the ITIA, Simona has now missed all four Slams this year. It is unclear if a hearing will be held at all this year.
