"Only one person being negative is not important" - Simona Halep on Caroline Wozniacki's objection to players with doping bans receiving wild cards

Simona Halep recently addressed Caroline Wozniacki's objection to players with a history of doping receiving wildcard entries to tournaments.

Halep had initially received a four-year ban from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for Roxadustat during the 2022 US Open. However, the Romanian appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming that contaminated supplements were the cause of her failed drug test.

Following an investigation and hearing in 2024, her ban was reduced to nine months, allowing her to return to the court immediately.

Halep was subsequently given a wildcard to compete at the Miami Open. She kicked off her comeback by taking on Paula Badosa in the first round.

Badosa was also making a return to the court, having recently recovered from a lower back injury. She defeated Halep 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to move to the second round, where she will face close friend and World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Not everyone was happy with the Romanian getting a wildcard entry to the tournament after being banned for doping. Caroline Wozniacki expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, saying she wanted the sport to be 'clean' and 'fair' for everybody.

"I have always wanted a clean sport, fair for everybody," Wozniacki said at a press conference at the Miami Open. "It's my personal belief that I don't think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards."

Reacting to the Dane's comment about her return to tennis, Halep defended herself, insisting that she did not cheat.

"I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't cheat. I didn't dope. So it's better if we read the decision from CAS that it was a contaminated supplement, it wasn't doping. I never had something to do with doping. I never doped, so I'm not a cheater," Halep said during her post-match press conference in Miami.

Simona Halep then expressed gratitude to the Miami Open for granting her the opportunity to compete. She also emphasized that the support of her fans outweighed any negativity from detractors.

"Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and have the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back. Only one person being negative about me is not that important because I have hundreds of people that giving me love, so I will take that," she added.

Simona Halep on her comeback: "It felt really good"

Simona Halep talking to the press at the 2024 Miami Open

During the aforementioned press conference, Simona Halep gave her thoughts on her return to the court. She said it was "really good" being back and that she felt "positive emotions" throughout the match.

The former World no. 1 also mentioned that the cheers from the Miami Open crowd gave her a lot of energy.

"Well, it felt really good. I had emotions, but positive emotions. To see the crowd supporting me so nice gave me a lot of energy. The level of tennis was pretty good. Unexpected, I think, for most of the people," Halep said.

Despite her defeat to Paula Badosa, Simona Halep expressed her happiness to be back playing tennis. She also acknowledged the fans, stating that they made the day memorable with their unwavering support.

"Yeah, at this high level, like Paula played, I think I did a good job today. So I'm happy with the first match coming back," she said. "Playing so well, feeling so well on court, feeling so well outside of the court with so many people that are very nice to me and giving me the love, I would say that this day is going to stay very special for me."

The Miami Open defeat was the very first time Simona Halep lost to Paula Badosa. The Romanian previously beat her twice, both times in 2022 - at Wimbledon and the Madrid Open.