What to know about tennis star Simona Halep’s doping suspension and why it was reduced

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Simona Halep is allowed to resume her tennis career whenever she wants, now that a four-year doping suspension was reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to nine months — and the two-time Grand Slam champion already has missed more time than that.

"I cannot wait to return to the tour," Halep said.

The ruling on her appeal came Tuesday from a three-judge panel at the court based in Lausanne, Switzerland, so it's too soon to know when to expect to see Halep back in competition. And CAS, as the highest judicial body in sports is known, did not release its full findings yet, just a summary, so it's also too soon to know all of the ins and outs of the reasons behind the decision.

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Here is what you need to know about what happened:

Halep is a 32-year-old from Romania who has reached the pinnacle of her sport, reaching No. 1 in the WTA rankings and winning major championships at Wimbledon in 2019, by beating Serena Williams in the final, and at the French Open in 2018, by beating Sloane Stephens in the final. Halep's game is built primarily on defense and speedy court coverage.

Romania's Simona Halep celebrates after beating Poland's Magdalena Frech in their women's third round singles match on day six of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on July 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

Halep tested positive for the banned drug Roxadustat at the 2022 U.S. Open, where she lost in the first round to Daria Snigur of Ukraine 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. It was the first tour-level win of Snigur’s career.