Former world number one Simona Halep has received a wildcard to participate in the Australian Open qualifying round, Afrosport reports.
Halep, who was handed a four-year ban for testing positive for a banned substance, saw her penalty reduced to nine months this year.
Happy Slam 🫶 @Simona_Halep
See you soon! #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/1xEibhJOCX
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 18, 2024
The 33-year-old pleaded her innocence during the travails and was vindicated following the reduction of the sentence.
Halep returned to the tennis court at the Miami Open in March and competed on the WTA Tour in October in Hong Kong, exiting in the first round.
The former Wimbledon and French Open champion, ranked 877th in the world, enjoyed her best performance at the Australian Open in 2018, when she got to the final and lost to Caroline Wozniacki.
Her most recent outing at the season-opening Grand Slam was in 2022, when she was knocked out in the fourth round.
“I have been working hard to get ready for the 2025 season,” said Halep.
“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.”
Meanwhile, teenager Cruz Hewitt has also been handed a qualifying wildcard, as the 16-year-old Australian will be looking to emulate his father Lleyton.
Lleyton Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, made his major debut as a 15-year-old at Melbourne Park after coming through qualifying in 1997.
The Australian Open qualifying runs from 6-9 January 2025, while the tournament starts on 12 January.
