Halep still waiting: “No decision until the end of August”

Two months after her hearing by the anti-doping tribunal, Simona Halep, suspended since October 21, 2022, said in an interview with
interview with Eurosport Romania that she won’t have a decision until the end of August

Simona Halep in 2022 (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

Rémi Bourrières

August 27, 2023

Waiting and waiting and waiting. Since her provisional suspension on October 21, 2022, following a positive doping test in the first round of the US Open a few weeks earlier against Daria Snigur – traces of the anti-anemic Roxadustat were found in her urine – Simona Halep has deplored the fact that the authorities have waited far too long.

The Romanian had already publicly expressed her disappointment with several postponements to her hearing by the doping tribunal.

And when it finally took place, at the end of June, it was announced at the time that a decision would be made within two to three weeks. Two months later, there has been no further news.

“I received word from my lawyer that I won’t have a decision until the end of August. I am very disappointed by this,” she said in an interview with Eurosport Romania. “It’s almost impossible to wait so long for a decision, but as I said, I don’t have much to do and I’ll have to wait.”

Another clip from the upcoming interview Simona Halep did with Eurosport. The full interview will be released on Monday.

"It was quite a difficult case. There, at the hearings, my team was extraordinary together with all the experts we had. The lawyers also included Bogdan… pic.twitter.com/w4f2MsqOKt
— Romanian Tennis (@WTARomania) August 26, 2023

The good news for Halep is that the decision seems imminent, but not early enough to allow her to compete in the US Open, as she could have done in the event of a favourable verdict, her name having been initially registered in the list of registrants.

Halep, whose last competitive appearance dates back to that loss at the US Open last year, will therefore go at least a full year without playing.

“It was quite a difficult case. There, at the hearings, my team was extraordinary together with all the experts we had. The lawyers also included Bogdan Stoica, the lawyer from Romania, together with Howard (Jacobs) from America. They were strong and my defense was very good. The truth, it’s always easier when you tell the truth and I felt that everything was going to be fine.

“I expected to receive the decision much faster. As far as I know in the regulation, it is three weeks. It’s already been two months and I have received absolutely no news about the decision. I trained hard, I also posted on social media because I wanted to share this with my fans, that I am motivated and that I want to get back on the field as soon as possible.”