Two-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one Simona Halep is free to return to tennis immediately after her doping ban was reduced from four years to nine months.
The 32-year-old tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat - which promotes red blood cell production and increases haemoglobin content - during the 2022 US Open and was provisionally suspended in October of that year.
Eleven months later, Halep - who alleged that a contaminated supplement was responsible for the "really low" traces of roxadustat - was hit with a four-year suspension, making her ineligible to compete until October 2026, taking into account the time she already spent out of the sport.
As well as the positive roxadustat test, Halep was found guilty of a second charge relating to blood samples taken from her Athlete Biological Passport, and a three-strong Athlete Passport Management Unit panel of experts concluded that the latter offence was "likely" due to doping.
It was immediately reported that the Romanian would appeal her suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and following a three-day hearing in Switzerland, Halep's ban has been cut by over three years.
© Reuters
"The CAS Panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF Independent Tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine (9) months starting on 7 October 2022, which period expired on 6 July 2023," the CAS said in a statement.
The court revealed that a Keto MCT supplement was to blame for the contamination, and while Halep bore "some level of fault" for not exercising "sufficient care", her level of negligence did not meet the "significant" threshold.
Furthermore, the CAS dismissed the charge relating to Halep's Biological Passport, explaining that a blood sample taken on September 9 - as opposed to the September 22 sample relied upon in the original ruling - should have been considered.
Halep underwent nose surgery in between providing the two samples and therefore ruled herself out for the remainder of the 2022 season, and the court concluded that both factors "impacted the plausibility" of the ABP charge.
The 32-year-old's ranking points and prize money from August 29, 2022 to October 7, 2022 remain disqualified, but Halep's only match in that period - and most recent contest on the WTA Tour - was her shock US Open first-round defeat to Daria Snigur.
Halep won the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon titles and also reached the semi-finals of the latter tournament in 2022, losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina.
