Romanian tennis player and women’s former world no. 1 Simona Halep has received a wild card for the qualifiers of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025, the competition's organizers announced.

Simona Halep, currently ranked 877, has not participated in a tournament in Australia in three years due to her August 2022 doping ban, which was lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March 2024. The court found that Halep did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules and that the substance entered her body after consuming a contaminated supplement.

Halep’s comeback has not been very successful, so the wild card gives her a major chance at climbing the rankings. Her last official match was on October 28, when she was eliminated in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong.

"The Australian Open has given me some of the best moments of my career, so I can’t wait to return to Melbourne and play in front of the Australian fans," the Romanian tennis player said. 

Halep, now 33, was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2018, where she was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki.

The Melbourne tournament in January marks the first Grand Slam event where Simona Halep has received a wild card. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Australian Open on Facebook)