Simona Halep begins 1st hearing on drugs case 9 months after suspension

Former World No.1 tennis player Simona Halep finally appeared at the London District Court on Wednesday to appeal her doping suspension.

Halep tested positive for the banned substance Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open and has been provisionally suspended since then, marking the passage of nearly nine months between her initial suspension and the hearing.

The Romanian, who has stressed her innocence time and again, is vigorously endeavoring to prove that she did not use the substance intentionally. However, a new charge was brought against Halep by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) earlier this year for an alleged violation of anti-doping regulations. The ITIA claimed to have found "irregularities" in Halep's biological passport, which was once again disputed by the former World No. 1.

Dragoș Suciu, a commentator from Digi Sport, shed light on the presence of the Romanian at the English court. He opined that Halep is likely to face a suspension of approximately two years, a decision that she intends to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. Suciu anticipates that the Court of Arbitration for Sport may reduce the sentence by half.

Suciu further revealed that the initial verdict is expected to be delivered within two weeks. It must be noted that Simona Halep has repeatedly taken to social media over the last few months to complain about the delay in her hearing process, criticising the ITIA for conspiring against her.

Suciu stated:

"She was heard today, but she will be heard tomorrow. In about two weeks we should have a first verdict. The moment that was postponed occurred."

He further added:

Together with lawyers, Simona presented her arguments. We will see what the decisions will be. Generally, two-year suspensions are given here, then the decisions are appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In general, there they are halved. The term of provisional suspension is reduced, and that provisional suspension is from November 2022."

Ilie Nastase raises concerns over Simona Halep's situation, alleges discrimination and doping cover-ups in Tennis

Simona will look to reclaim her top-ranking position after the suspension (Image via Getty)

In a recent interview with Digi Sport, Ilie Nastase expressed his views on the situation surrounding Simona Halep. Nastase claimed that Halep has faced discrimination due to her nationality and criticized the fairness of the judgment made by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

"Simona, I don't know, her situation is complicated. As Mr. Tiriac said, she had to hurry at first because then they chopped it. The longer you lengthen her, the longer she'll wait to be able to play tennis again."

Furthermore, Nastase claimed that the delay in Halep's case was a result of her Romanian nationality. He compared his own experience of dealing with accusations of racism, stating:

"She procrastinates because she is Romanian! When they told me I was racist, I finished the topic in three days because we went over them. That's how it was supposed to be done in this case, but now it's too late."

Nastase insinuated that her case had not been handled appropriately and that time constraints have hindered a fair resolution.

The former tennis star further alleged that certain tennis players from other countries had been involved in doping cases but faced no consequences. Nastase said:

"I know some tennis players from other countries who have been caught [in doping cases] and absolutely nothing has been done. It has been said at the management level that if these names are given, sponsors leave, and there will be no WTA tournaments. That was the answer."

Despite the challenges, Nastase expressed confidence in the former World No. 1's ability to recover, stating:

"Simona will recover, she was number 1, you can't always be number 1... but she has qualities to be No. 1 again."