Simona Halep: Why was her ban reduced and when can she return to tennis?

Simona Halep, the former world No 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion, has had her four-year doping ban reduced to nine months after a successful appeal process with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

It brings to an end a saga that left Halep's tennis career hanging by a thread. She was suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat – a banned substance that stimulates the production of red blood cells – at the US Open that year.

In addition to the failed drug test, which carried a two-year suspension, Halep was charged with another doping offence last year due to irregularities in her athlete biological passport (ABP), a method designed to monitor different blood parameters over time to reveal potential doping. That added another two years to her ban.

Halep, 32, conceded last year that if the four-year ban was upheld, it would mean the end of her career. With the suspension now reduced, she can plot her return to the tour.

Here is everything we know about Halep's case and what's next for the Romanian.

In October 2022, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed Halep tested positive for roxadustat during the US Open in August that year. Roxadustat is a substance that stimulates the production of red blood cells and is used to treat anaemia and kidney problems.

Having been provisionally suspended for almost one year for the failed drug test, Halep was hit with another suspension in September 2023 after being charged with irregularities in her ABP.

Following a review by an independent tribunal, which upheld both decisions from the ITIA, the action was taken to suspend Halep from tennis until 2026.

Halep immediately announced she would begin the appeal process, saying in a statement: