MIAMI – The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) has begun a review of its rules that could see players cleared of doping offences or have their bans reduced return with “special rankings” in future, the governing body of women’s tennis said.

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 on March 19.

The Romanian’s four-year doping ban was cut to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Unlike in the case of serious injuries or maternity leave, players banned for doping offences 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 e-mail on March 20.

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

Former 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.

The 32-year-old was also charged with another offence in 2023 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, was allowed to return to action after the sport’s highest court ruled earlier in March 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.

But her return on a wild card did not sit well with fellow former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

“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.

To which Halep insisted: “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. I never had something to do with doping.”

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

British doubles player Tara Moore, however, said 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 the 31-year-old, who was ranked a career-high 77th in doubles when she was forced out for 19 months after failing a drug test in June 2022.

“The WTA needs a rule that if a player is found with NO FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE AT ALL they should at least be given a protective (ranking).”

Moore was cleared of doping last December after she proved the source of her positive test was contaminated meat.

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) welcomed the WTA move to consider a rule change.

“Time and opportunities lost can never be fully recaptured,” said PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar. “Therefore, the PTPA supports players exonerated of doping offences being eligible for a special ranking upon their return to the tour.

“We have called for such a rule in the past and welcome its consideration now.” REUTERS, AFP