LAUSANNE: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday reduced the four-year doping ban imposed on Romania’s former world number one Simona Halep to nine months, which have already been served.
The 32-year-old was suspended for four years last September by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after two separate doping infractions the previous year.
The two-time Grand Slam singles champion appealed to CAS in February, arguing that the positive test was the result of a “contaminated product” and anomalies in her biological passport could be linked to surgery she had undergone.
“The CAS Panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF Independent Tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine months starting on 7 October 2022, which period expired on 6 July 2023,” CAS said in a statement.
Halep’s career has been on hold since October 7, 2022, the date of the start of her provisional suspension after testing positive for Roxadustat at the US Open.
Roxadustat is a substance that can be used legitimately to treat anaemia.
But it is also on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list as it is considered a blood-doping agent, which increases haemoglobin and the production of red blood cells.
The biological passport system is designed for the long-term monitoring of an athlete’s blood indicators with the aim of identifying irregularities that could indicate doping.
Halep has protested her innocence and refused to accept the ITIA decision which would have kept keep her from playing professional tennis again until October 6, 2026.
The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles said she wanted to “clear her name” and claimed experts found she had accidentally taken a contaminated supplement.
Halep free to return after four-year doping ban reduced by CAS
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Halep free to return after four-year doping ban reduced by CAS
- The two-time Grand Slam singles champion appealed to CAS in February, arguing that the positive test was the result of a “contaminated product”
- Halep’s career has been on hold since October 7, 2022
Zverev suffers early exit in French Open warm-up
- Muller, ranked 40th in the world, beat a top-five ranked opponent for the first time in his career
- The German said sickness was behind his lacklustre showing
BERLIN: World number three Alexander Zverev blamed illness after a last 16 elimination by Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the Hamburg Open on Wednesday botched his French Open dress rehearsal.
Muller, ranked 40th in the world, won 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) to reach the quarter-finals, beating a top-five ranked opponent for the first time in his career.
The German struggled in the opening set, taking just two games as Muller won in 34 minutes. Zverev opened strongly in the second and broke his opponent twice.
In the third, Zverev and Muller broke each other once before forcing a tiebreak. Zverev held the advantage until Muller won the final three points to take the match.
A last-minute sign-up to the clay court event, Zverev had hoped to use his hometown tournament to gain momentum for the French Open.
The German said sickness was behind his lacklustre showing. “It was OK considering I threw up 37 times and had a fever of 39.4 degrees (Celsius, 102.9 Fahrenheit) all night.
“I was two points away from winning the match. There’s a lot to be said in my favor.”
The 28-year-old said his opponent had taken advantage of his poor condition.
“When I had to walk it was difficult. He then realized at some point I wasn’t feeling well and made the points last as long as possible.”
Still looking for a breakthrough Grand Slam victory, Zverev lost in the most recent Australian and French Open finals, along with the US Open in 2020.
After an inconsistent start to 2025, Zverev broke through to win the Bavarian Open in April, his third victory on the Munich clay. The German was however eliminated at the quarter-finals in Rome in straight sets last Wednesday.
Zverev won the tournament in 2023 and made the final last year, losing to France’s Arthur Fils in a third-set tiebreak.
The German was considered the favorite for the tournament after world number one Jannik Sinner’s late withdrawal.
Earlier on Wednesday, American second seed Frances Tiafoe was eliminated by Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and fourth-seeded Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo lost to Czech Jiri Lehecka.
Djokovic to carry on without a coach after parting ways with Murray
- The high-profile partnership with three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray lasted only six months
- Djokovic is winless on clay this year after exiting the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open with straight-sets losses
Novak Djokovic said he would carry on without a coach for now after parting ways with Andy Murray last week, as the Serbian prepares for his latest bid to win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open.
The high-profile partnership with three-time Grand Slam champion Murray lasted only six months but Djokovic said his respect for the Scot had only grown in that time.
“At the moment, I’m not in need of a coach. I don’t need to rush in any context. I feel comfortable with the people around me,” Djokovic told reporters on Tuesday, a day before facing Marton Fucsovics at the Geneva Open.
“In the next few tournaments, we’ll see what happens.”
Djokovic, 38, is winless on clay this year after exiting the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open with straight-sets losses last month, and his form is a concern heading into Roland Garros, which kicks off on Sunday.
He had appointed fellow former world number one Murray ahead of this year’s Australian Open and said in February he would continue working with him for an indefinite period.
“We felt like we couldn’t get more out of that partnership on the court, and that’s all there is to it,” added Djokovic.
“My respect toward Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person.”
Bianca Andreescu on challenges of finding purpose away from the tennis court
- Ranked 102 in the world this week, Andreescu is competing in the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open
MADRID: Bianca Andreescu has spent more time than she would have liked away from the tennis tour since she stormed onto the scene back in 2019.
That breakthrough season six years ago saw a 19-year-old Andreescu become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title when she defeated Serena Williams in the US Open final.
She ended that year ranked No. 4 in the world after starting it ranked outside the top 150.
Her career has been a stop-start journey since then, as a slew of injuries, a self-imposed break for mental health reasons, and more recently an appendectomy, have kept her on the sidelines for various stretches of time.
Currently mounting yet another comeback following a six-month hiatus, Andreescu opened her Roland Garros qualifying campaign with a bang, delivering a 6-0, 6-0 performance against China’s Yao Xinxin on Monday to advance to round two.
Ranked 102 in the world this week, Andreescu is competing in the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open.
The 24-year-old Canadian returned to action in April after missing the first three and a half months of the season due to personal reasons, as well as an emergency surgery to remove her appendix back in February.
Looking fitter and feeling healthier than, perhaps, ever, Andreescu sent out a signal of intent in Rome last week, where she claimed two top-20 victories, over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic, en route to the round of 16.
A long journey of soul-searching and self-development is what helped Andreescu get to where she is today. But ever the seeker, she admits her appetite for learning and finding meaningful off-court experiences doesn’t always make her life easier on court.
For years now, Andreescu has been working on finding fulfilment beyond winning a tennis match. During a break she took in 2022, she started volunteering at various charities, including a women’s shelter dedicated to victims of domestic violence.
She made sure her most recent hiatus was just as productive.
“I did a lot of things. After Tokyo [in October 2024], I was not too good mentally, so since I was in that area, I went to Thailand, and I did a lot of volunteer work there with kids,” Andreescu told Arab News earlier this month.
She spent time in Phuket and Chiang Mai, helping bring food, water, and clothes to impoverished areas.
“It was very humbling, obviously, and just such amazing people,” she added. “That definitely helped me get into a better mindset.”
Just as she was preparing to return to the tour for March’s ‘Sunshine Double’ in Indian Wells and Miami, Andreescu’s progress was delayed by appendectomy surgery.
“But that led to other things; so I went on two retreats,” she explained.
“I did an online Tony Robbins retreat, and then I did a Joe Dispenza retreat in person [in Basel]. I've read all of his books, and I talk about him quite a lot. I went to one of his retreats to really get into that mindset of, coming back into the sport.”
She also visited her grandparents in Romania.
“They are my biggest supporters, and, honestly, when I have tough times on court, I really think about them, and they really give me that confidence to push harder and to be better on the court, so it was really nice,” said Andreescu.
Getting healthy has been a top priority for Andreescu, who spent months researching various nutrition plans before settling on Dave Asprey’s ‘Bulletproof diet’. She said a lot of her previous injuries could have been attributed to being overweight and is pleased with all the work she’s done to “get leaner”.
Now back on tour and working her way through the qualifying rounds of the French Open, Andreescu is armed with a wealth of knowledge and real-life experiences she never would have amassed had she been on the tennis circuit full-time.
“It is definitely great, but sometimes I can get too much in my head with all the information that I'm seeking,” she confessed.
“Because, yes, I have a lot of interests outside of the court, and that can be beneficial, but also not. Because if I go back to 2019, yes, I read books and stuff, but I was still in that era of ‘ignorance is bliss’, and sometimes that's really nice, because I can definitely get into my head.
“But it helps me so much in the way of growing as a person on and off the court, a million percent. And I think that's what life is all about, and I think that's why I also seek those experiences, especially volunteer work. For me, that's, like, super, super important, giving back.”
‘Getting in her head’ can manifest in different ways and Andreescu tries to elaborate with a few examples.
“Let's say I'm feeling nervous. I have all of these tools under my belt that I can use to help me tame that nervousness. But then I can also take the way of going with the flow and just letting the nerves hit me and use that to my advantage,” she says.
“So it's like finding that balance, for instance, because I know that I can do well when I am nervous, but I know I can also do well when I'm more calm and centered, so it's a bit weird in that way.
“And then the other part is I feel like I always need to be doing something and always needing to learn something, and that can get quite overbearing because sometimes, let's say, if I don't write in my journal one day, I can get in my head, if I lose my match today, I'll maybe think, ‘Oh, if I wrote in my journal yesterday, maybe I would have won’. Little things like that.”
Striking that balance remains a work in progress for Andreescu but she certainly feels empowered by all her off-court endeavors and feels “super different than even six months ago”.
Her biggest challenge is shedding all the comparisons people draw between who she is now, as a player, and who she was during her breakthrough 2019 campaign. She admits it’s a trap she herself sometimes gets caught up in.
“It's like how can I be Bianca now instead of how can I be Bianca from last year, or even, you know, 2019, right? Because everyone talks about 2019, but it's never going to be the case. So it's like finding who Bianca is now is the most important thing,” she states.
“I can definitely have a toxic relationship in a way with the sport, and so it's just really focusing on giving myself grace of, yes, I'm a perfectionist and I know where my level can be, but it's also like, I'm not the same person I was back in 2019, because people always compare me to 2019, and me too. That's kind of been the narrative of my career.
“So it's just giving myself grace and patience because in a way I'm still young.”
A month shy of her 25th birthday, Andreescu has every reason to believe the best is yet to come.
Alcaraz beats Sinner again to win the Italian Open and solidify his status as French Open favorite
- Since last year, Alcaraz is the only player to beat Sinner more than once and now he’s done it four straight times
- Sinner was attempting to become the first home man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976
ROME: There’s only one player who is consistently beating Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated the top-ranked Sinner again, 7-6 (5), 6-1, to win his first Italian Open on Sunday and add another big clay-court title to his resume.
Since the start of last year, Alcaraz is the only player to beat Sinner more than once and now he’s done it four straight times.
“Just proud about myself, the way that I approached the match mentally. Tactically think I did it pretty well from the first to the last point,” Alcaraz said. “I maintained my level during the whole match.”
Alcaraz’s victory before Sinner’s home fans at the Foro Italico snapped the Italian’s 26-match winning streak, which stretched back to October — when Alcaraz beat him in the China Open final in a third-set tiebreaker. Alcaraz now leads the career series 7-4.
It was Sinner’s first tournament back after a three-month doping ban.
“I’m just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level,” Alcaraz said. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him coming back from three months without playing. Making the final here is something insane.”
Alcaraz also solidified his status as the favorite to defend his title at the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
“On clay right now, you’re the best player,” Sinner said.
Added Alcaraz, “Beating Jannik, winning Rome. I think both things mixed together give you a great confidence coming to Paris. I always say that the final is not about playing, the final is about winning, to go for it. I just repeated (that to) myself all the time.”
Alcaraz spoils Sinner’s return
Sinner was playing his first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised questions, since the three-month suspension allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams, and come back at his home tournament.
Sinner said he and his team went through “three months that were anything but easy, so achieving this result already here is really big” and that “we should be really proud.”
He added: “We’re bringing home a very special trophy, even if I wanted the other one.”
Sinner was attempting to become the first home man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976. He was also trying to complete a sweep of the Rome singles titles for Italy after Jasmine Paolini won the women’s trophy on Saturday.
Paolini and partner Sara Errani also defended their women’s doubles title earlier Sunday, making Paolini the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to sweep Rome’s singles and doubles titles in the same year.
A large number of the 10,500 fans in Campo Centrale were decked out in orange — Sinner’s theme color — and they were chanting Sinner’s name before the match even began, and even after Sinner lost.
“You gave me a lot of energy, lot of courage to be here on court, I tried with everything I had,” Sinner told the crowd. “It was something very, very special. Thank you.”
Sinner also cracked a joke about offering “special thanks” to his brother, Mark, “who instead of being here, decided to go to Imola to watch Formula 1.”
Sinner wasted 2 set points
Sinner wasted two set points on Alcaraz’s serve when he led 6-5 in the first set and then Alcaraz jumped ahead in the tiebreaker with two aces and held on to seal it before cruising in the second set.
On Alcaraz’s third match point, Sinner ran down a drop shot but Alcaraz was waiting for his reply and hit a stretch volley winner into the open court.
Alcaraz then held his hands out wide and flashed a wide smile.
Alcaraz hit 19 winners to Sinner’s seven and only had one more unforced error than his opponent — 31-30. Half of Sinner’s errors came from his backhand, which is usually his most dependable shot.
Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will move back up to No. 2 in the rankings on Monday after his third final in three clay-court events this season. He won the Monte Carlo Masters and finished runner-up in the Barcelona Open before withdrawing from the Madrid Open because of injury.
Having also won the Madrid Open in 2022 and 2023, Alcaraz became the fifth man to win all three Masters 1000 clay events after Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios.
Sinner sends message by demolishing Ruud to reach Italian Open semis
- Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome
- The 23-year-old demolished sixth seed Ruud in just over an hour with an ominous display of tennis
ROME: Jannik Sinner marched into the semifinals of the Italian Open on Wednesday after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 and sending a warning that the world number one is officially back.
Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in Madrid earlier this month.
In his previous matches Sinner looked to be still finding his feet after his suspension, accepted from the World Anti-Doping Agency for testing positive for traces of clostebol in March last year.
But the 23-year-old demolished sixth seed Ruud in just over an hour with an ominous display of tennis, his domination such that the home fans at the packed center court, seemingly out of sympathy, began to cheer the rare points that Ruud won.
Ruud even got the loudest cheer of the match when he held his serve for the only time, in game three of the second set, holding his arms aloft in ironic celebration.
“I was feeling great on court today. I think we all saw that,” said Sinner.
“How I felt today was very, very positive signs for me... I was serving well and also returning well. Moving great on the court, so I’m very happy about that.”
Tommy Paul, a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 winner over Hubert Hurkacz in the day’s first match, will have wondered what on earth he can do to stop Sinner if the Italian brings that form to Friday’s last-four clash.
Sinner won the first set in just 27 minutes, giving up only seven points as he stalked the court with intent, dressed all in black as he has been all week.
And he then maintained his record of not dropping a set in the tournament to not so much stroll as smash into the last four, and send a message to Carlos Alcaraz.
Spaniard Alcaraz, Sinner’s key Grand Slam rival ahead of the French Open, will contest the other semifinal with Lorenzo Musetti on Friday afternoon, with the blockbuster final tennis fans wanted still on.
Home hope and sixth seed Paolini became the third Italian woman to reach the Foro Italico final, and the first since her doubles partner Sara Errani was thumped by Serena Williams in 2014.
Late bloomer Paolini, 29, will face one of Coco Gauff and China’s Zheng Qinwen, who beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday night, after beating Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-1.
“It’s a privilege to be in this position. I matured late as a tennis player but everyone has their own path. Some mature earlier and some later,” said Paolini.
“I’m just enjoying it without thinking too much about the past.”
Paolini was favorite to get past unseeded Stearns but early on her American opponent showed why she got to her first 1000 series semifinal by knocking out a succession of big names including Naomi Osaka and fifth seed Madison Keys.
Paolini looked way off the pace when she lost the first three games of the match in surprisingly timid fashion, serving weakly and mishitting a host of simple shots.
But she slowly began to force herself back into the contest, putting pressure on Stearns to find shots with her serving and finding both more power and accuracy on her forehand.
Stearns’ frustration was clear to see after being broken to allow Paolini to serve for the set, lashing her racket into her bag before giving herself a telling off in her seat.
And a break of serve in the third game of the second set deflated Stearns, whose fate was sealed two games later when Paolini took the third of three break points, roaring her joy to her delighted supporters in the center court stands before comfortably seeing out the match.
Paolini could yet win both the singles and women’s doubles tournaments, with her and Errani taking on Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in the semifinals on Friday.
