Miami Open: Caroline Wozniacki Puts Friendship on Backseat to Make a Bold Statement About Simona Halep’s Return to Tennis

Danish WTA star Caroline Wozniacki presented her perspectives on the doping trial case of the former world’s number one tennis player, Simona Halep. This Romanian WTA star was suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for using a banned substance, Roxadustat. The Agency brought forth a four-season ban on Halep. However, the WTA prodigy fought for her rights and finally managed to shorten her suspension to nine months from four years.

Wozniacki has always praised Simona Halep’s extraordinary tennis talent. The duo was last spotted playing against each other at the finals of the Australian Open 2018. Now, Halep received a wild card entry to return to the court with the ongoing Miami Open‘s main draw. Despite a good professional bond, Wozniacki didn’t like the fact much. Her comments about Halep’s case showcase the different perspectives of tennis players about doping.

Caroline Wozniacki speaks for “a clean sport” as she delves into Halep’s doping trial

In Miami Open’s recent press conference, Wozniacki was asked to drop her bits about the Simona Halep case. In her response, Wozniacki made a straight point that despite liking Halep, she is not cool with doping at all. Wozniacki said, “I’ve been very outspoken in the past about how I feel about doping and all of that. I think my view on doping is the same. I have always wanted a clean sport, fair for everybody. I think it’s still my opinion. Again, this is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, 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, but it’s my personal belief that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.”

Wozniacki further spoke about how she believes that if a tennis player has been punished for their mistakes, then that player should try to work hard and make their way to the top position from the bottom. Wozniacki mentioned how Simona Halep’s case was unnecessarily dragged. However, the Romanian WTA star got a reduced sentence of nine months but not a “clearance.”

Caroline Wozniacki’s statement spoke about her disciplined perspectives on tennis. She further spoke about how she managed to make herself out of this mess and go forward with a clean report in her professional tennis endeavors. In a nutshell, Wozniacki always wanted to influence the generation with a clean and fair sport.

Caroline Wozniacki wishes to offer “good role models” for the next generation

This Danish WTA star highlighted one point that refers to tennis as a game of influence on the generation. She delved deeper into being an honest athlete, who believes in fair fight. Wozniacki said- “Again, 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. I’ve always been a very honest athlete and always looked at everything that I’ve taken. Even taking Tylenol is something I double and triple check three times. All I want is for my kids to look up and say, You know that, I want to play tennis and I want to play fair.”

Caroline Wozniacki’s comment on Simona Halep’s case showcases that despite their professional bond, this Danish tennis player is not ready to sideline a serious matter. Wozniacki wishes to have a fair game in tennis and she tries to maintain that ethics to make tennis a positively influential game for the generation.

Read more: Simona Halep Doping Trial: Major Morale Boost for Former No.1 as Ex-Coach Rushes to Extend Support