Halep In, Rafa Out

With that new can smell

Halep to Return After Doping Suspension

Simona Halep after winning Wimbledon in 2019

This week, Simona Halep’s four year doping suspension was reduced to nine months following her appeal. Since she has already been out of the game for more than that, she can return to the tour immediately, and has received a main draw wild card into The Miami Open. Halep, a former World No. 1 and 2-time Grand Slam champion, was initially suspended in 2022 for taking the banned drug Roxadustat, a doping product favored by cyclists and long distance runners to improve stamina.

I just open a new can of balls and take a huge inhale at every changeover to keep me going.

Given Halep’s time away from the tour and age (32), losing the appeal would likely have been curtains for her career. Crack open a Wilson US Open Extra Duty can Halep, you’re back in business.

Want more detail? Andy Roddick shares what players have to do to comply with doping regulations, with commentary from Jon Wertheim about Halep’s story in their recent podcast episode.

Rafa Update: I Lied

I blame Netflix, which likely lured Nadal with a couple million to play in their first ever live-streamed sporting event, The Netflix Slam, last Sunday. While it’s great to see tennis in the global spotlight, it comes at a high cost to die hard tennis fans who were hoping to see Nadal this week in the desert. That said, IW ticket holders, stay in your seats! Nadal has been replaced by the next closest name, Nagal. India’s highest ranked singles player, Sumit Nagal (World No. 101), will play Milos Raonic in the first round.

As for Rafa, my guess is that he’ll retire at the French Open this year, followed by an Andy Murray retirement at Wimbledon.

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