Simona Halep issues schedule update after doping ban comeback wrecked by injury

Simona Halep has given an update on her future after her comeback from a doping ban was derailed by a knee injury.

The two-time Grand Slam champion successfully appealed her four-year suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this season and had it reduced to nine months, allowing her to return immediately.

But she has only played two matches since then, with one ending in a retirement.

Halep recently attended the Bucharest WTA 125k draw ceremony, where she addressed her own career. The former world No. 1 has not played a match since retiring in the first round of her Trophee Clarins match four months ago.

While she hasn't entered the draw in Bucharest, Halep is hoping to get back on the WTA Tour at the end of next month. "It's hard to say now because I'm still recovering with my knee, I plan to go play a tournament in Hong Kong at the end of October," the 32-year-old said.

"I would really like it because I miss it, I miss the competition and I hope to be healthy and fit to play. This is the plan now."

Halep took part in a tennis demo during a sports festival in Cluj-Napoca in June but she has not been seen on a tennis court since. The only match she has completed since returning came at the Miami Open just days after her ban was reduced, where she lost to Paula Badosa in the first round.

In July, the Romanian shared a heartfelt update and revealed that she would be taking a break from the sport after her knee injury forced her to withdraw from several planned tournaments.

"Hi everyone, I wanted to provide a little health update since I have been away from the court lately. It is not the best news, but I wanted to share all the same. For a few months now, I have been struggling with a knee injury," she wrote.

"It’s an injury I have never had before and it has been a tough one to manage, with the pain persisting. It has been a very difficult period (almost two years) mentally and emotionally for me and struggling physically on top of that definitely doesn’t help.