​Symona Halep criticizes ITIA’s four-year doping ban at CAS. Hearings in Lausanne will last for the next three days, and the ex-leader of the WTA hopes for a softening of the punishment. Highlights of Wednesday – LiveBlog on HotNews.ro.

>> Boris Becker on Simona Halep’s hearing at TAS: “I am sure that Ion Cyriak will help her”

Simona Halep, listened to on TAS – The most important moments of Wednesday, February 7

10:00 a.mOn the other hand, ITIA is represented in this process by a name that has extensive experience in the use of doping in sports. We are talking about Ulrich Haas. He was part of a commission that investigated doping in cycling, including Lance Armstrong.

09:55Simona is represented at CAS by a team of lawyers led by Howard L. Jacobs (he has also been with athletes who have had problems with doping, we mention here the cases of Maria Sharapova and Marin Cilic – both of whom received suspension reductions).

In addition to Bohdan Stoyka and Howard L. Jacobs, Simone was also in Lausanne with former American figure skater Jeffrey G. Benz, who is even an arbitrator in TAS, according to Euronews.

09:48Alize Cornet, Simona Halep’s former WTA opponent, sent a message to the Romanian ahead of the TAS hearing.

“I did not doubt her for a second. I know his values, we share the same values. I know who she is, a worker. I know that he carefully watches what he eats, what he takes. It’s just a mistake, not a mistake on her part, but a mistake on the part of the lab and the people who gave it to her (not a tainted supplement).

I think it’s very sad what’s happening. It’s very unfair and I don’t know how she feels about it. But Simone is very strong morally, so I’m not surprised.

But it’s sad and I can’t wait for him to finally be free of this and I hope the court gives him the freedom he deserves. I also get emotional when I talk about her” – Alice Cornetquoted by treizecizero.ro.

09:42TAS press release about the hearing of Simona Halep

09:39Answering questions about Simona Halep’s appeal from TAS, lawyer Christian Chernodolia, a very good sports expert, commented to Adevărul the following.

“I don’t want to use loud or harsh words, but I think it will be impossible for Halep to get an acquittal in CAS. If Simona is acquitted, such a decision will set a very dangerous legal precedent for any other doping/anti-doping proceedings in the future.

No matter how strong the evidence from the Halep camp is, if this physical evidence related to the contamination option exists, it will not be able to exonerate Simona.

Because in this file we are talking about this type of disciplinary offense, which does not really take into account the way in which the prohibited substance entered the body.

Therefore, I believe that the most optimistic scenario for Simona at TAS would be to achieve a reduction of the 4-year suspension.

I repeat: given the dangerous precedent that Simona’s acquittal will set, I don’t think any court will make such a decision.” Christian Chernodolea.

09:32The Court of Arbitration for Sport has made it clear that Simona Halep will not make any statements to the press until the end of the hearing (Friday, around 16:30).

09:32After three days of hearings, the TAS panel will deliberate and prepare an arbitral award, which will contain the award and its reasoning.

09:32At the request of the parties to the event, additional information about the persons of the participants: representatives, experts and witnesses will not be provided.

09:31Who is judging Simona: The TAS Commission appointed to consider this case consists of Annabel Bennett (Australia – President), Jeffrey H. Benz (USA) and Professor Ulrich Haas (Germany).

09:31Final oral presentations will be held on the last day, i.e. Friday, February 9, 2024.

09:30The hearing should end on Friday, February 9, around 3:30 p.m., which is 4:30 p.m. in Romania.

09:30The hearing will begin with the opening speeches of the parties, after which the testimony of witnesses and experts will be given.

09:30The TAS Commission and the participants in the procedure have determined what the hearing calendar looks like: everything will start on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. (that is, 10:30 a.m. in Romania).

09:29The hearings will be held in closed session, and the reason is as simple as possible: neither side requested open hearings.

09:29According to TAS, the parties, witnesses and experts will participate in the meeting both face-to-face and remotely. Simone is personally present in Lausanne.

09:28It is not known when we will receive the decision of the Lausanne Forum, it may be a matter of a few days or a few months.

09:28Hearings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will continue from Wednesday to Friday.

09:27What Simona Halep said in an interview with Paris Match, which was taken at the end of 2023.

“I am a victim of injustice. I have been waiting for more than a year. I didn’t sleep well most of the time. I am an emotional person and before every match I was stressed and I felt it in my stomach.

Every day was like this this year. I dream of returning, despite my age, because I want to be on the court and decide for myself how to end my career in tennis.

I think I deserve it, after all the work I’ve done my whole life and the sacrifices I’ve made for tennis. It would be a disaster to be away from tennis for four years.

I don’t even want to think about it. I’m ready to fight. I don’t give up easily,” Simona Halep is quoted as saying by News.ro.

What you need to know about Simona Halep’s doping case

• The news that Simona Halep was temporarily suspended for doping appeared on Friday, October 21, 2022.

• Simona’s case was heard by Sport Resolutions, an independent tribunal in London that hears doping cases in white sport.

• Halep was suspended for 4 years for two separate violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP): the presence and use of the substance roxadustat in a urine sample collected after an anti-doping test conducted at the 2022 US Open (1) and a violation of her biological passport (2).

• Simone has only one appeal: the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

• According to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on its official website, Halep will be heard by CAS on February 7-9, 2024.

• A Swiss court said the former WTA leader had asked to overturn the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and “reduce” its sanctions.

• If the 4-year disqualification remains in force, then the ex-WTA leader can theoretically return to the tennis court on October 6, 2026. Halep would have turned 35 at that time.

• On August 29, 2022, Simona Halep played her last official match on the world stage. At the US Open, in the inaugural round, our athlete unexpectedly defeated Daria Snigur (at that time, 124th place in the WTA, based on the qualification).