"No issue stripping dirty athletes of titles, points and prize money" - Tennis journalist on Serena Williams' dig at Simona Halep following doping ban

Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim has given his take on Simona Halep's doping ban and Serena Williams' reaction to it.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) handed Halep a four-year ban from tennis for breaches of the sport's anti-doping programme last month. She had tested positive for Roxadustat, which is a banned substance, at the 2022 US Open and has since been on a provisional suspension.

An individual tribunal took up the investigation and decided in favor of banning Halep from participating in any tennis-related activities for four years. In a statement, the tribunal said that the Romanian had committed "intentional anti-doping violations" which were confirmed by analysis of 51 blood samples provided by her as part of the Athlete Biological Passport.

When the news was announced, there was a mixed reaction from players, pundits, and fans. Former World No. 1 Serena Williams was one of them, uploading a cryptic post on social media.

"8 is a better number," Williams wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Halep and Williams locked horns in the 2919 Wimbledon Championships final, where the former won 6-2, 6-2 to beat the American and deny her an eighth title at SW19.

When asked by a fan if tennis should follow in the footsteps of athletics by stripping stripping titles from players who have failed doping tests and instead award the trophy to the runner-up, Jon Wertheim agreed -- but only if there's enough evidence.

Wertheim stated that there is no proof of Halep cheating in 2019 when she beat Williams in the Wimbledon final and hence there was no reason to look into it.

"We should have no issue stripping dirty athletes of their titles and points and prize money. But it needs to be backed up with evidence. There is nothing to suggest that Simona Halep was cheating in 2019, the year she beat Serena in the Wimbledon final," he said. (via Sports Illustrated)

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“Someone told me players are hating on me because I beat them” - Simona Halep on Serena Williams and others taking a dig at her

Simona Halep is a two-time Grand Slam champion.

Not long after Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian, among others, took a dig at her regarding her four-year doping ban, Simona Halep responded to their statements.

While the Romanian agreed that everyone has the right to judge her, she added that some players who were directing their anger at her were only doing it because they lost to her on the WTA tour over the years.

“I think everyone has the right to judge me because the tribunal decided that I have the fault here. Someone told me today that those players who are hating on me because I beat them,” she told Front Office Sports.