Former women’s tennis number one Simona Halep withdrew of WTA 1000 Madrid Open to work on her form. The Romanian player said she needed more time to be physically ready to compete at the highest level after being sidelined for more than 18 months.
The former Wimbledon and French Open champion won a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and her four-year doping ban was reduced to nine months. She returned for a tournament in Miami, where she was eliminated in the first round after losing to Paula Badosa.
“Unfortunately my body needs a little more time to be ready and I have made the tough decision not to play in Madrid. Tough because I want to be back on tour asap, but experience tells me not to rush. Thank you to WTA 1000 Madrid Open who offered me the wild card and to my fans”, wrote Simona Halep on social networks.
Former women’s tennis number one was banned from tennis in October 2022 for four years after testing positive for roxadustat, a banned drug that stimulates red blood cell production, in a sample at the US Open that year. The tennis player appealed this decision and in March the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that her sanction would be reduced to nine months.
