By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Simona Halep has appealed her four-year doping ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The former world No. 1’s competitive future hangs in the balance.

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Last month, an International Tennis Integrity Agency Tribunal found Halep guilty of committing anti-doping violations and hit her with a four-year ban. Halep’s suspension will run from October 7, 2022 until October 6, 2026, unless she wins a reduced sentence on appeal.

In her appeal, Halep is asking the Court of Arbitration for Sport to set aside the Tribunal’s decision and reduce her suspension.

In accordance with CAS procedures, a panel of arbitrators will hear Halep’s appeal.

Following the hearing, the panel will deliberate and issue an Arbitral Award containing its decision and the grounds for it.

“At this time, it is not possible to indicate a time frame for the issuance of the decision,” the CAS said in a statement. “The CAS Panel’s decision will be final and binding, with the exception of the parties’ right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds.”

The 31-year-old Halep was charged with two separate doping violations.

The first related to an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the banned substance Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022, carried out through regular urine testing during competition Roxadustat is legitimately used for the treatment of anaemia but is on the WADA Prohibited Substance list as it is considered a blood doping agent, which increases hemoglobin and the production of red blood cells. It has been used by middle distance and long-distance runners in the past.

The second charge related to irregularities in Halep’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).

Read the complete 126-page ITIA vs. Simona Halep decision in the case here.

An independent tribunal accepted Halep’s explanation of a contaminated supplement, but found “likely doping” as the cause of her failing drug tests.

In her first interview since the four-year doping ban, Halep blasted the ruling saying “there is no proof. It’s just insane.” Read Halep’s interview with Front Office Sports here. 

“When I received the decision, I was in complete shock,” Halep told Front Office Sports. “I could not believe that they suspended me for four years when we found the contamination and my blood was totally normal. They didn’t find anything bad in my blood.

“It’s crazy that they made this decision with everything [her legal team presented]. They judged me on scenarios. There is no proof. It’s just insane.”