Simona Halep returned to the tennis courts and was able to play at WTA Miami thanks to a wild card. After Caroline Wozniacki, another important name appeared from white sports who claims that Simona should not receive invitations to competitions, it is Andy Roddick, former ATP leader.
Simona HalepPhoto: Larry Marano / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Andy Roddick says Simona Halep should not get wild cards
Halep returned to the court after the CAS decision to reduce the suspension, and the Miami organizers immediately granted her a wild card.
Note
- A wild card is an invitation to participate received by an athlete who would not normally have access to that competition. It was also the case of Simona Halep at WTA Miami (she did not have the necessary ranking to play at the tournament in Florida).
The decision was not seen with good eyes by Caroline Wozniacki, the Dane specifying that she has nothing against Simona, but that athletes who come back after doping scandals should not receive invitations to perform at important competitions.
Andy Roddick (Grand Slam winner – US Open 2003 – and former world leader) supports the Dane’s conclusion and is of the opinion that Simona should come back from the bottom, i.e. evolve in the qualifications and regain her place in the WTA hierarchy based only on for work.
The American also brings up a statement by Simona from 2017, when Halep said that Maria Sharapova should not receive wild cards because she was involved in a doping scandal, and finds it ironic what is currently happening with athlete from Romania.
“For children, for young athletes, it is not ok to help with a wild card a player who has been suspended for doping. It’s not just about Maria Sharapova here, but about all the players who are found doped”, is Simona’s statement in 2017, before the tournament in Stuttgart.
In the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, the former ATP leader supports Wozniacki’s point of view and is of the opinion that Simona must return to competitions on her own, not with the help of wild cards.
“What throws things into a bit of a weird zone is Simona Halep’s statement in 2017, when Sharapova returned to the circuit after the doping scandal. Never, under any circumstances, should someone tested positive receive a wildcard, said the Romanian.
I agree 100% with that and I also 100% agree with what Caroline said. You have to start from scratch, work hard to prove you deserve to be back, show us you’re clean.
It’s true, in Simona’s case, the team made a big mistake. From this point of view, I have sympathy for Halep, but that does not mean that you have to blindly trust the team, as she did.
She says “I didn’t dope”, when in fact it’s “I didn’t dope on purpose”.
Because the test was positive, we are only talking about the existence of the intention or the lack of it, because doping existed” – Andy Roddickin his podcast, quoted by Eurosport.
>> Sorana Cîrstea and the explanation of the elimination from WTA Miami – What it says about the return of Simona Halep
Simona Halep has said on several occasions that she will return to the Romanian team, but it remains to be seen if she will do it right from the match against Ukraine.
Romania will meet Ukraine in the play-off for the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup. The duel will take place on April 12 and 13, at Fernaninda Beach (Florida, USA), on clay.
About Simona Halep’s doping case
- Simona’s case was heard by Sport Resolutions, the independent tribunal in London that handles doping cases in white sport.
