Simona Halep can return to court after CAS reduced her ban from four years to nine months, and the former world number one now has the chance to fulfill her biggest career dream: winning an Olympic medal.

>> WRONG The suspension of Simona Halep was reduced to only 9 months, TAS reports – the ex-WTA leader can return to the court

To qualify for the 2024 Olympics, Simona Halep must play in the Billie Jean King Cup and break into the WTA top 400.

To participate in the summer Olympic Games in Paris, Halep must fulfill certain conditions.

A total of 64 places are available: the first 56 are taken according to the WTA ranking, and each country can have a maximum of four participants. Other places are offered to the finalists of the 2023 Pan American Games, the champions of the 2022 Asian Games and the champions of the 2023 African Games.

The ITF offers two spots for Grand Slam (or Olympic) champions who do not meet the main qualification criteria for the 2024 Olympics. The Romanian has two major titles: Roland Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019.

In order to get to Paris, Simona must represent Romania at the Billie Jean King Cup (in April, the “three colors” will play Ukraine) and get into the Top-400 WTA after Roland Garros 2024 (June 10).

At the moment, on the 400th place in the world ranking is the Iberian Eva Guerrero Alvarez, who has 157 points. Simona could score these points even while participating in less important competitions (WTA 125 or WTA 250).

Simona Halep, one participation in the Olympic Games – Paris three months ago seemed far away

Halep participated in the Olympic Games only once. In 2012 (in London), the Romanian was defeated in the first round by Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova. Simone then withdrew from the 2016 (Rio de Janeiro / due to Zika virus) and 2021 (Tokyo / due to injury) editions.

In December 2023, when she was still banned for four years, Simona spoke about her desire to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games. At the time, she said that, regardless of the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, she would be in Paris.

“Of course! There is a small chance that I will be able to participate in the Olympics, so I believe in it and I will do everything for it. At 32 years old, this is also what keeps me going. But I do not own all the books.

Anyway, whatever happens, I’ll be there. At worst, as a spectator, because it will be enchanting. I love Paris, it is a city where, apart from my sporting success, I feel good.

I always liked to walk there. I love the architecture, the people and the energy that this city radiates,” – Simona Halep in December 2023 for Euronews.

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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).

• Halep was heard at the CAS on February 7-9, 2024.

• The Swiss court said that the ex-leader of the WTA asked to cancel the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and “reduce” its sanctions.

• On August 29, 2022, Simona Halep played her last official match on the world circuit. 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).