Simona Halep handed Miami Open wild card after successful ban appeal

Simona Halep will enter the Miami Open as a wild card as she makes her return from a ban for anti-doping violations.

The Miami Open in Florida is set to start on March 17, and she has been included in the draw.

“I am 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 wrote on her Instagram account.

“Thank you to the tournament for giving me this opportunity and I cannot wait to be back on court and competing. See you all soon!”

The 32-year-old has not played competitive tennis since the 2022 US Open, but after appealing to the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS), she is now set to make a comeback.

She had been banned for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for anti-doping violations, but the CAS ruled “on the balance of probabilities, that her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional”, and said she “bore no significant fault or negligence” for the transgression.

A urine sample from Halep had tested positive for Roxadustat, a prohibited substance, and the ITIA had also said: “a charge that Ms Halep’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), in particular a blood sample given by Ms Halep on 22 September 2022, established use of a prohibited substance and/or prohibited method.”

In their statement, the CAS said that Halep had tested positive due to a “contaminated supplement”.