Halep hits back at Wozniacki: 'I didn’t cheat'

Simona Halep

Simona Halep returned to tennis on Tuesday, losing in three sets to Spaniard Paula Badosa at the Miami Open and then hit back at Caroline Wozniacki after the Dane criticised the decision to give her a wildcard into the tournament.

Former World No. 1 Halep was given a warm welcome by the Miami crowd before fading as she lost 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 in her first game since the 2022 US Open. But while the Romanian flags and chants of her name showed she retains plenty of support after having her doping ban reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week, former World No.1 Wozniacki questioned the way Halep was allowed into the tournament.

"This is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping...it's my personal belief that I don't think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards," said the Dane. Asked about Wozniacki's comments, Halep said she did not understand her motivation. "Why did she say that? 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.

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