Halep

So they banned her for 4 years but now they dropped all charges and she can compete again. Wow 

I always liked Halep, hope she can get back 

Proof that cheaters CAN win   

She’s going be mid when she come back , don’t think she can even compete against anyone in top 20. 

Good for her standing her ground and having the truth come out...this case was full of complexities the general public have no clue about,,,she fought the Romanian mob and won this round, but sadly I doubt she will ever be safe moving forward...a lot of dangerous enemies were created during this entire legal battle and will likely follow her indefinitely until something tragic happens.

If she is smart, she will move to Canada or USA to live in a much safer environment...staying in Romania would be a huge mistake.

The chargers weren't dropped, TAS reduced her suspension to 9 months, they didn't absolve her because she did have Roxadustat in her blood. The problem with this case is that ITIA alleged Simona was doing a systematic doping with Roxadustat, which couldn't have been the case given the low values of the substance found in the blood sample they took. Simona's defense, from the start, was that the Roxadustat was from a contaminated supplement she took, from a company from China, which would have explained the low quantity found in the sample she tested positive for the banned substance.

ITIA dismissed her defense and all the evidence that her team presented and gave her 4 years, but they dragged that verdict for 1 year, so Simona contested the suspension at TAS, the trial was a few weeks ago and it only took them a few weeks for them to give this verdict. ITIA built their whole case on systematic doping, on Simona's part, but they had no evidence of that, which is why TAS reduced her suspension to just 9 months. Her career peak is over, but this episode will be a stain on her career, even though I don't think she would've taken the Roxadustat on purpose, it makes no sense + the low quantity found in her blood is highly indicative of a contaminated supplement.

This case was really strange, something like this has never happened, a suspension this big to be reduced by this much, and now here comes the problem: at the moment Simona has no WTA ranking, at all, but if they take in consideration the 9 months suspension, retroactive to July of last year, she should be reinstated as #56 in the WTA ranking, so still no word on what the WTA will do.

@packersbackers

 I dunno what you are talking about, what mob? Her support was rock solid at home, the only people who were against her were people who already couldn't stand her, so they all felt vindicated when the suspension occurred. She wont leave Romania, all her family is her, she has a lot of money invested here.

Btw, the Miami Open offered her a WC and she announced earlier she will accept it, so she will play in Miami, in 2 weeks, if she does it will be her first game in 566 days...