​Kim Clijsters (ex-WTA leader) and Andy Roddick (former No. 1 ATP ranking) commented on the statements of Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, who said that athletes with a positive test result should not receive invitations to tournaments, after Simona Halep took advantage of it. wild card at the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami.

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Kim Clijsters: “I 100% agree with Wozniacki, but the situation with Simona Halep is different”

When asked what she thought of Simona’s return to the WTA tournament, Caroline Wozniacki (the athlete who won her only Grand Slam title immediately after the final with Halep – Australian Open 2018) said that, from her point of view, the players who received a positive evaluation , must start from scratch, trying to return to the elite of the sport.

The Romanian invited the Dane to read the TAS decision and point out that it was a contaminated supplement.

Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former world leaders defended Simona Halep, saying “it’s a completely different situation, she tested positive without knowing the substance.”

“(Wozniacki) was very careful when she said that, but basically she doesn’t think people who have been doping should come back and get a wild card. Halep did not like it. She defended herself and said that she is not a fraud, that she did not use doping. It is clear that she was disturbed. It’s a business, and you want (Halep) to become a piece of history” – Andy Roddick.

“When someone gets a positive result because they took something to become a better athlete, I agree with Caroline 100 percent. Simona’s situation is completely different, she received a positive test without knowing that she had this substance” – Kim Clijsters.

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Kim Clijsters considers Simona Halep “not a cheater”

The topic of wild cards for players who test positive has been discussed in the past, and Simona Halep was then involved.

Maria Sharapova was disqualified after failing an anti-doping test (meldonium), and the return to the field took place through a wild card received from the organizers in Stuttgart (2017, WTA 500 category tournament).

Then Alize Cornet and Simona Halep spoke out against the gesture of the German organizers, and Clijsters and Roddick have now spoken out about the Romanian’s comments at the time.

“Halep was on record in 2017, when Sharapova returned after serving her sentence and received a wild card, saying that under no circumstances should anyone who tests positive receive a wild card” – Andy Roddick.

“The fact that she said something about Maria in the past shows her vision of how she views doping and that she is not a fraud. In her opinion, she didn’t cheat, and I really believe that.” – Kim Clijsters.

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Find out after the match between Simona Halep and Paula Badosa from WTA Miami

• Simona Halep will receive a check for $23,250 and 10 points in the world singles ranking for participation in the WTA Miami main draw (she ranks 1140th in the Live ranking).

• Paula Badosa (80 WTA) will meet in the second round. Aryna Sabalenko (2 WTA), a player whose ex-boyfriend died aged just 42.

• This is Paula’s first victory over Simona. In the first meetings (both took place in 2022), the Romanian won: 6-3, 6-1 in Madrid and 6-1, 6-2 in Wimbledon.

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

• A nightmare 18 months followed for the former WTA leader, who was banned 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. test conducted at the US Open 2022 (1) and irregularities in his biological passport (2). Halep appealed to the CAS, which reduced her sentence to 9 months.

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