MIAMI – Simona Halep posted a video on March 12 of her practising on the courts of the upcoming Miami Open in what will be her first competitive appearance since winning an appeal over a doping ban.
The Romanian former world No. 1 had her four-year ban cut to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week, making her eligible to return to competition immediately.
“Feels like I never left,” she wrote in an Instagram story with a winking emoji. “First day back, thank you @miamiopen.”
The 32-year-old, a former Wimbledon and French Open champion, was suspended in October 2022 after she tested positive for roxadustat – a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells – at the US Open that year.
She was also charged with another doping offence in 2023 due to irregularities in her athlete biological passport (ABP), a method designed to monitor different blood parameters over time to reveal potential doping.
Halep, who vigorously denied the charges against her, said that she would most likely have been compelled to retire if the initial four-year ban was maintained.
The Miami Open runs from March 17 to 31.
Halep is not in action at the ongoing Indian Wells tournament, but it will not be a surprise if she was keeping a close watch on the top stars in action.
On March 12, top seed Iga Swiatek swatted aside Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
Swiatek got off to a slow start and saved four break points in the third game before finding her groove.
The Pole then raced to a 5-1 lead, prompting her Kazakhstan opponent to throw her racket to the floor in frustration, before wrapping the opener up in less than 30 minutes.
Swiatek, the 2022 champion, made early inroads in the second set and eventually proved too strong for Putintseva.
“I knew I had to keep my focus (in the second set), she was trying different stuff out there,” said the 22-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion, who dropped serve twice in the second frame.
“But I just really wanted to play my game and focus on what I want to do. I’m glad I did that.”
Wozniacki, who returned to the tour in 2023 after stepping away from the sport in 2020 to start a family, eased past fellow mother Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 earlier in the day.
“She’s a really experienced player,” Swiatek added of the 2011 champion. “I think she’s playing great after her maternity break, she was fighting to come back.
“I have huge respect. It’s going to be a nice match.”
Wozniacki said she was relishing the opportunity to continue her run at Indian Wells, after making the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.
“I’m just enjoying myself and I’m just thrilled I get another match in front of all of you guys,” she said. REUTERS
