Simona Halep has received a wildcard into the Australian Open qualifying draw.
It’s the first wildcard any Grand Slam tournament has offered the former No. 1 after her drugs ban was reduced in March, allowing her to return to competition immediately.
Halep is a former finalist in Melbourne, losing the championship match to Caroline Wozniacki back in 2018.
She will now get a chance to play for a spot in the main draw, making her first Grand Slam appearance since the 2022 US Open when she was stunned in the first round.
“The thought of returning to Australia after three years is exciting and I’m very grateful to the tournament for this opportunity. I have been working hard to get ready for the 2025 season,” Halep said after receiving the qualifying wildcard.
“The Australian Open has provided me with some of the best moments in my career, so I can’t wait to be back in Melbourne and playing in front of the Aussie fans.”
Despite being a two-time Major winner, this is the first time that one of the four Grand Slams has granted Halep a pass into the tournament. The 33-year-old was denied the chance to enter the French Open draw despite being a former champion, winning the event in 2018.
Halep also missed out on a Wimbledon wildcard, though it later emerged that she didn’t apply for one because she was injured.
The former world No. 1 did not get a pass into the US Open, though it’s not known whether she asked for one.
The Romanian has barely played since the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her four-year suspension to nine months.
Halep received a wildcard into the main draw of the Miami Open, one of the first tournaments that took place after she got the green light to return to the circuit. She stormed through the first set against Paula Badosa but ultimately lost in three.
She entered the Trophee Clarins two months later, a WTA 125 event in Paris, but retired through injury in the middle of the second set. Halep was sidelined by physical problems for the rest of the summer.
“For a few months now, I have been struggling with a knee injury. It’s an injury I have never had before and it has been a tough one to manage, with the pain persisting,” the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram in July.
“I have decided to take the time needed to recover properly, rather than training and playing through pain.”
The 24-time title winner finally returned in Hong Kong at the beginning of October. She won one match at the WTA 125 event but crashed out in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament there and has not played since.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk