Simona Halep returned to the tennis courts and was able to play at WTA Miami thanks to a wild card. After Caroline Wozniacki, another important name from white sports appeared, who claims that Simona should not receive invitations to the competition, this is Andy Roddick, the former leader of the ATP.

Andy Roddick says Simona Halep shouldn’t get a wild card

Halep returned to the court after the CAS decision to shorten the suspension, and the organizers from Miami immediately gave her a wild card.

Note

• A wild card is an invitation to participate that is given to an athlete who would not normally have access to that competition. It was the same with Simona Halep at the WTA in Miami (she did not have the necessary rating to play in the tournament in Florida).

Caroline Wozniacki did not take this decision very well, the Dane clarified that she has nothing against Simona, but athletes returning after doping scandals should not receive invitations to compete in important competitions.

Andy Roddick (winner of the Grand Slam tournament – US Open 2003 – and former leader of the world ranking) supports the conclusion of the Dane and believes that Simona should come back from the bottom, that is, evolve in qualification and regain her place in the WTA hierarchy only on the basis of work.

The American also recalls Simona’s statement in 2017, when Halep said that Maria Sharapova should not receive a wild card because she is involved in a doping scandal, and considers it ironic what is happening now with the athlete from Romania.

“For children, for young athletes, it is not normal to help with a wild card a player who was disqualified for doping. This is not only about Maria Sharapova, but also about all the players who were found to have used doping,” said Simona in 2017 before the tournament in Stuttgart.

In the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, the ex-ATP leader supports Wozniacki’s point of view and believes that Simona should return to the competition on her own, and not with the help of a wild card.

“What throws things into a bit of a weird zone is Simona Halep’s statement in 2017, when Sharapova returned to the track after a doping scandal. Never, under any circumstances, should anyone with a positive test be given a wild card, the Romanian said.

I agree with this 100% and I also agree 100% with what Caroline said. You have to start from scratch, work hard to prove that you deserve to come back, show us that you are clean.

It is true, in the case of Simona, the team made a big mistake. From this point of view, I feel sympathy for Halep, but that does not mean that you should blindly trust the team, as she did.

She says “I didn’t dope”, but in reality it’s “I didn’t dope on purpose”.

Because the test was positive, we are only talking about the presence of intent or its absence, because doping existed” – Andy Roddickin his podcast, quoted by Eurosport.

>> Sorana Kirstea and WTA Miami exit explained – What it says about Simona Halep’s comeback

Simona Halep has repeatedly stated that she will return to the Romanian national team, but whether she will do so immediately after the match against Ukraine remains unknown.

Romania will meet Ukraine in the playoffs of the Billie Jean King Cup final tournament. The match will take place on April 12 and 13 at Fernandina Beach (Florida, USA) on clay.

About the doping case of Simona Halep

• 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.

• TAS reduced Simona Halep’s sentence from 4 years to 9 months.