Photo:Clive Brunskill/Getty; Vaughn Ridley/Getty
Clive Brunskill/Getty; Vaughn Ridley/Getty
In the wake of Simona Halep’s return to competition after a doping ban,Caroline Wozniackiis taking issue with the tennis star receiving a wild card entry to the first round of the Miami Open.
“I have always wanted a clean sport, fair for everybody. I think it’s definitely still my opinion,” the Danish former world No. 1 told reporters,per CNN. “This is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping … I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it’s my personal belief, and it’s not a knock on anyone, but it’s my personal belief that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.”
Wozniacki —who returned to competition last June herself, three-plus years after retiring and following the birth of her two children — then clarified her assertion.
“If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom,” she said. “That’s my personal opinion upon things.”
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After learning of Wozniacki’s wild card pushback, Halep was seemingly incredulous: “Why did she say that?” Halep asked reporters, following her own match in which she lost in three sets.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope,” Halep said. “So it’s better if we read the decision from CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] 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 was initially served a four-year suspension from tennis but it waslater reduced to a nine-month ban.
Halep has been outspoken in the past about other players and doping.
In 2017, Halep criticizedMaria Sharapovaafter the latter was banned for using the prohibited substance Meldonium.
“For the kids, for the young players, it is not OK to help with a wildcard the player that was banned for doping,” Halep said at the time.
“I want to have good role models for the young generation,” she said on Tuesday. “It’s a sport that has a lot of money in it, a lot of competitiveness, a lot of competitors. I want a fair fight.”
source: people.com
