"Never been in jail, hopefully I'll never be, but many people told me looks like you are" - Simona Halep on being "scared of future" after doping ban

Simona Halep recently opened up on being "scared" of the future after she was banned for doping. Her ban has since been overturned.

In 2023, Halep was handed a four-year suspension by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for violating anti-doping regulations after she tested positive for Roxadustat during the 2022 US Open.

The former World No. 1 subsequently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and following an investigation by it, the ITIA's ban was overturned and Halep's suspension reduced to nine months. As she had already served a portion of her suspension since October 2022, the Romanian was able to quickly return to the court at the 2024 Miami Open after receiving a wildcard entry for the main draw. However, her comeback was short-lived as she suffered an early exit in the first round to Paula Badosa.

Halep also withdrew from her first-round match at the 2024 Trophee Clarins due to a knee injury and since then she has not competed on the WTA Tour. Recently, in an interview with "We Are Tennis," she opened up about the impact of her doping ban.

"It was amazing. It was like a freedom. I never been in jail and hopefully, I'll never be, but they say - many people told me it looks like you are in jail. I could not go watch a tennis match. This was the most difficult thing," Simona Halep said.

"I told my brother a few months ago that I'm scared of future. I never been, because tennis is, you practice today for tomorrow. You always kind of know, expect what it's (that's) gonna happen. But after this experience that I went through, I'm a little bit scared, because life, it's beautiful, but it's also hard sometimes. You never know what to expect.

"I want to go back on court. This is the near future, I want to perform, to be close enough to what I have been if I can, if I still can, and I want kids. This is the future that I wish for myself, to have kids and to have a family," she added.

The two-time Grand Slam champion Halep further opened up about what she did and didn't miss about tennis during her ban.

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Simona Halep on her doping ban: "The play and the competition, I missed it a lot"

Simona Halep [Source: Getty]

In the aforementioned interview, Simona Halep spoke about missing certain aspects of the sport more than others.

"The competition, the adrenaline, the sensation, the fighting spirit, the feeling that you don't have to give up, you have to fight with yourself sometimes, not with your opponent, with yourself, and I did this a lot in the past. But what I missed the least? Traveling. Yeah, for me, (it's) always been a tough thing to travel. I don't like to fly, hotels. So, this I didn't miss. But the play and the competition I missed a lot," she said.

The last tournament that Halep participated in before her ban was the 2022 US Open. She was seeded seventh but suffered a surprising 2-6, 6-0, 4-6 defeat in the first round to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.