Simona Halep tells the AP she was nervous about returning to tennis after her doping ban appeal

By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep tells The Associated Press she was nervous while flying to her first tennis tournament in 1 1/2 years. She had just successfully reduced a doping ban on appeal last month and was not sure what the reception would be like or how well she would play. Halep tested positive for a banned substance at the 2022 U.S. Open and was given a four-year ban that was cut to nine months when a court ruled she had taken a contaminated supplement. Halep will play next week in Oeiras, Portugal, and the week after that in Madrid.