Simona Halep is set to make her return to tennis at the Miami Open after a significant hiatus of more than 17 months.
The former world No. 1 announced her comeback on Instagram, expressing her excitement about rejoining the WTA Tour.
“I’m thrilled to let you all know that I will be making my return to the WTA Tour in two weeks at the Miami Open,” Halep said, per D’Arcy Maine of ESPN. “Thank you to the tournament for giving me this opportunity and I cannot wait to be back on court and competing.”
The Romanian tennis star’s return comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accepted her appeal regarding a positive doping test. Initially facing a four-year ban, Halep’s penalty was reduced to nine months after the CAS found her not entirely at fault. The positive test for roxadustat, a banned substance, occurred at the 2022 US Open, leading to Halep’s steadfast denial of any wrongdoing and immediate appeal of the initial punishment.
The CAS ruling was based on Halep’s argument that the substance entered her system through the consumption of a contaminated supplement. While the court acknowledged Halep’s fault in not exercising enough caution with the Keto MCT supplement she used, it concluded her violation did not stem from negligence.
“Although the CAS panel found that Ms. Halep did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care when using the Keto MCT supplement, it concluded that she bore no significant fault or negligence,” the court said.
Halep, who has been absent from the sport since the US Open in September 2022, is currently unranked and will require wild cards for entry into WTA events. A two-time semifinalist at the Miami Open, Simona Halep last clinched a 1000-level title at the Canadian Open in August 2022.
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