WTA to consider ‘special rankings’ for players cleared of doping

The WTA has begun a review of its rules that could see players cleared of doping offenses or have their bans reduced return to the circuit with “special rankings” in future, the governing body of women’s tennis told Reuters on Wednesday.

The rule change is being considered following the high-profile case of Simona Halep, who made her comeback at the Miami Open with a wild card Tuesday after the Romanian’s four-year doping ban was cut to nine months by sport’s highest court.

Unlike in the case of serious injuries or maternity leave, players banned for doping offenses are currently not afforded protected rankings on their return and often have to rebuild their careers from scratch.

“We have begun a process of reviewing this rule as we believe it is appropriate to consider,” a WTA spokesperson told Reuters via email.

“The precise timeline for any potential rule change and its subsequent implementation will be dependent on the feedback received from our members.

Past Wimbledon and French Open winner Halep was suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat — a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells — at the US Open that year.

Halep, 32, was also charged with another offense last year due to irregularities in her athlete biological passport, a method designed to monitor different blood parameters over time to reveal potential doping.

But Halep, who vigorously denied the charges against her, was allowed to return to action after the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that her suspension should be slashed to nine months, a period she had already served.

She was beaten 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 by Paula Badosa in the opening round in Miami.

For now, the unranked Halep will need to rely on wildcards to compete in the biggest tournaments but that may not prove too difficult for the former world number one who was ranked inside the top 10 before her suspension.

Britain’s former doubles world No. 1 Tara Moore, however, said earlier this month on X that she may find it tougher to resurrect her career after being cleared of an anti-doping rule violation.

“Great that @Simona_Halep is able to get back onto her feet so quickly. Shame it’s not the same for myself and other players who have been exonerated that aren’t so high on the totem pole,” said Moore, who was ranked a career-high 77 in doubles in June 2022 when she was forced out of action for 19 months after failing a drugs…