Women’s tennis has become embroiled in a war of words after former world No1s Simon Halep and Caroline Wozniacki clashed at the Miami Open over Halep’s doping record.
Wozniacki questioned tournament chiefs’ decision to give Halep a wild card just two weeks after the Romanian had a ban for blood-boosting drug Roxadustat cut short on appeal.
Halep hit back at the Dane when told of her comments, arguing that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had accepted her claim that she ingested the banned substance unwittingly.
“Why did she say that?” said 2019 Wimbledon champion Halep, after losing her first-round match with Paula Badosa in three sets.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope. Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back.
“Only one person being negative about me is not that important because I have hundreds of people that are giving me love, so I will take that.”
Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open winner, spoke out after winning her opening match in Miami against Clara Burel earlier on Tuesday.
“I’ve always liked Simona. We’ve always had a good relationship,” she said.
“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, that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.
“If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom. Simona’s situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn’t a clearance, it was a reduced sentence.
“I just hope for a clean sport. That’s all I want. I want to have good role models for the young generation. 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.”
Halep, 32, was provisionally suspended in late 2022 after testing positive at the US Open and her career looked to be over when she was handed a four-year ban in September.
Halep hit back at Wozniacki at the Miami Open in a row over her doping record
But she received a reprieve two weeks ago when CAS cut her sanction to nine months, freeing her to return to competition immediately.
“My parents always taught me that good always prevails,” she added. “I knew I’m clean. I knew I didn’t do anything wrong. I believed that it’s impossible to stay four years for something that doesn’t exist.”