Simona Halep issues schedule update after comeback from doping offense ruined by injury | Tennis | Sport

Simona Halep has given an update on her future after her comeback from a doping ban was derailed by a knee injury.

The two-time Grand Slam winner successfully appealed her four-year ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this season and had it reduced to nine months, allowing her to return immediately.

Since then, however, she has only played two games, one of which ended in a forfeit.

Halep recently attended the WTA 125k draw ceremony in Bucharest, where she spoke about her own career. The former world No. 1 has not played a match since being eliminated in the first round of her Trophee Clarins match four months ago.

Although she did not enter the draw in Bucharest, Halep hopes to return to the WTA Tour at the end of next month. “It’s difficult to say now because I’m still recovering from my knee. I plan to play a tournament in Hong Kong at the end of October,” said the 32-year-old.

“I would really like to do it because I miss it, I miss competing and I hope I’m healthy and fit to play. That’s the plan now.”

Halep took part in a tennis demo during a sports festival in Cluj-Napoca in June, but has not been seen on a tennis court since. The only match she has played since her return was at the Miami Open, just days after her suspension was shortened, where she lost in the first round to Paula Badosa.

In July, the Romanian gave a heartfelt update, revealing that she would be taking a break from the sport after her knee injury forced her to withdraw from several scheduled tournaments.

“Hi everyone, I wanted to give you a little update on my health since I haven’t been on the court lately. It’s not the best news but I wanted to share it anyway. I’ve been battling a knee injury for a few months now,” she wrote.

“It’s an injury I’ve never had before and it’s been hard to deal with as the pain has been persistent. It’s been a very difficult time (almost two years) for me, both mentally and emotionally, and having to struggle physically on top of that definitely didn’t help.