Simona Halep's doping saga 'makes it difficult' to justify her induction into Hall of Fame, suggests ex-ATP pro

Former American tennis player Jimmy Arias has given his verdict on whether Simona Halep should find a place in tennis’ Hall of Fame. Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion, announced her retirement from the sport on Wednesday, February 05, 2025.

Halep, who hails from Romania, made the announcement shortly after losing in the first round of the Transylvania Open. Simona Halep, now 33, draws curtains on an illustrious career that saw her win the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. She clinched 24 singles crowns on the WTA Tour and bagged 45 top-10 wins in her career.

These credentials would warrant her a place in the Hall of Fame, but Arias opined otherwise because of Halep’s doping suspension in 2022. Simona Halep tested positive for the banned drug Roxadustat and was handed a four-year ban. Speaking on the Tennis Channel, Arias was asked if he would vote for Halep to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the ex-ATP pro said:

“I wouldn't want to, there's obviously an asterisk next to her name. You're always going to think about it. The results are there, the titles are there. The 40 million in prize money will still be there, which is nice for her. But it's difficult because there's that question mark of ‘did she do it fair and square or was there a little edge’ and how many matches was it? We kind of don't know the answer. So it just makes it difficult, and I'm glad I'm not someone that votes on who gets in the Hall of Fame.”

Halep appealed her four-year ban to the Court of Arbitration for Soort (CAS), saying she was exposed to a contaminated supplement and that’s how she tested positive. CAS subsequently brought her suspension down to nine months, but Halep hasn’t made an impact since her comeback. She marked her return in March 2024 and played just six matches since then.

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“Life goes on” - Simona Halep after announcing retirement

Simona Halep acknowledges the crowd after announcing her retirement on Wednesday. Source: Getty

Simona Halep was in action at the Transylvania Open on Wednesday, where she lost in under an hour to Lucia Bronzetti. The former World No. 1 then delivered a heartfelt speech in front of her home crowd in which she said she hoped to stay attached to the sport, but not at a competitive level.

"It’s a beautiful thing. I became World No. 1, I won Grand Slams, it’s all I wanted. Life goes on, there is life after tennis and I hope that we will see each other again. I’ll come to the tennis here as often as I can and of course I will continue to play – but to be competitive it requires much more and at this moment it is no longer," Halep said.

The tributes poured to congratulate Halep for her remarkable career, and German great Boris Becker was among those to laud praise on the Romanian. He wrote:

"Congratulations Simo for your incredible career! Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion plus Number 1 in the world , many other trophies! The game of tennis will miss you! Many thanks for all your contributions!"

Halep retires with many accolades to her name, one of them being the remarkable fact that she held on to the World No. 1 spot for 64 weeks.