Tennis: Former world no. 1 Simona Halep 'automatically out' of US Open field due to provisional doping ban

Former world no. 1 tennis player Simona Halep was dropped from the upcoming USOpen field on Monday, August 21 as she's under a provisional doping suspension. The two-time Grand Slam champion was withdrawn from the tournament's qualifying draw automatically because of her ban announced by the USTennis Association.

Taylor Townsend has been given Halep's spot in the main draw of the event which begins on August 28 in Flushing Meadows, New York. As per the rules, a banned player, even though provisional, for whatsoever reason, isineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned events.

This is not the first time the former ace player has been accused of doping. She first tested positive for Roxadustat, a banned substance, at the last year's USOpen as per the International Tennis Integrity Agency. The Romanian was seeded 7th at the last grand slam of the year in 2022 which she exited after losing to Daria Snigur of Ukraine in the first round.

She was again accused of a second offence in May earlier this year for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport.

The drug which Halep was accused of taking, Roxadustat, is, however, an approved drug in the European Union. The drug is used to treat the symptoms of anaemia caused by chronic kidney failure.

The 31-year-old was ranked number 1 in 2017 and won her two grand slams after that. The first major she won was the 2018 French Open in which Halep beat Sloane Stephens in the final. For her second title, Wimbledon 2019, she defeated Serena Williams in the final.

Novak wins 'toughest match' of career

Alcaraz will remain number one in the world and will be the top seed while defending his title at the US Open, which starts on August 28.

Djokovic, who declined to be vaccinated against COVID-19, was playing his first US tournament in two years.

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