Grand Slam tennis champion Simona Halep gets February appeal date to challenge 4-year ban for doping

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has an appeal hearing in February to challenge her four-year ban for doping, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday.

The three-day hearing is set for Feb. 7-9 for Halep’s appeal against the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

The court set no target for a verdict, which can take several months from a panel of three judges.

The 32-year-old Halep was banned in September after an investigation into her positive test at the 2022 U.S. Open that later included irregularities in her biological passport.

Halep, who reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017, has claimed contaminated nutritional supplements caused her positive test for Roxadustat.

The European Union’s medicines agency says the substance stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO which has long been a doping product favored by endurance athletes.

Halep will be 35 when her ban is due to expire in October 2026.

She won the French Open in 2018 when she beat Sloane Stephens in the final and captured the Wimbledon title one year later, beating Serena Williams.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis