The Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS, will examine the case of Romanian tennis star Simona Halep after she filed an appeal against her four-year suspension for doping. According to the list of hearings on the CAS website, Halep's case will be heard between February 7 and 9, 2024.

Simona Halep said on social media that she is happy to have the opportunity to prove her innocence before an independent tribunal, according to News.ro.

Halep, a former women's tennis number one, was provisionally suspended in October 2022 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for four years due to violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, testing positive for the performance-increasing drug Roxadustat. The suspension is valid from October 7, 2022, until October 6, 2026.

After the ITIA announced its final decision, Halep said post that she would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. 

In the aftermath of the suspension, Simona Halep repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and reiterated that she had "never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance."

Simona Halep is one of the most successful Romanian athletes of all time. She has won 24 WTA titles in her career, including two Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros (2018) and Wimbledon (2019).

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Mircea Nicolescu | Dreamstime.com)