Simona Halep appeals against four-year doping ban from tennis at Court of Arbitration for Sport

Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep has submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against her four-year competition ban for breaking anti-doping rules.

The two-time Grand Slam winner, 32, was handed the suspension by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in September.

In a statement, the ITIA said the Romanian had committed two breaches of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).

The breaches were "the presence and use of roxadustat as evidenced in Halep’s urine sample collected on 29 August 2022 at the US Open" and "use of a prohibited substance or method during 2022, based on collection and analysis of 51 blood samples provided by the player as part of the ABP (Athlete Biological Passport) programme."

A statement from CAS read: "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered the appeal filed by the Romanian tennis player, Ms Simona Halep (the Athlete), against the decision rendered by the International Tennis Integrity Agency Tribunal dated 22 September 2023 (the Challenged Decision), in which she was found to have committed Anti-Doping Rule Violations and sanctioned with a four-year period of ineligibility commencing on 7 October 2022, and the disqualification of all results obtained in competitions taking place in the period 29 August 2022 to 7 October 2022, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, ranking points and prize money.

"In her appeal to the CAS, the Athlete requests that the Challenged Decision be set aside and that her sanction be reduced.

"The CAS arbitration proceedings have commenced. In accordance with the Code of Sports-related Arbitration (the CAS Code), the arbitration rules governing CAS procedures, the parties are exchanging written submissions and the Panel of arbitrators that will decide the matter is being constituted.

"Once constituted, the Panel will issue procedural directions for the next phase of the procedure, including the holding of a hearing.

"Following the hearing, the Panel will deliberate and issue an Arbitral Award containing its decision and the grounds for it.

"At this time, it is not possible to indicate a time frame for the issuance of the decision.

"The CAS Panel's decision will be final and binding, with the exception of the parties' right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds."