"This hearing gave me with the opportunity to explain my position and defend my innocence. I remain confident that the truth will prevail and I look forward to reclaiming my place on the tennis courts," the two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep commented in a statement after the final day of the hearing. Accompanied by her lawyers, the 32-year-old began presenting her case behind closed doors at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne on Wednesday. The hearing concluded on Friday at 14:30 GMT "with the parties' final submissions", CAS said in a separate statement. "The parties have been informed that the CAS panel in charge of the matter will now deliberate and prepare the award containing its decision and reasons," the statement added. The CAS decision will be issued at a date yet to be announced.

The Romanian was suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) last September after two separate doping infractions. She tested positive for roxadustat after the 2022 US Open and was charged with a second anti-doping violation last year relating to irregularities in her athlete biological passport. 

Halep has maintained her innocence and refused to accept the ITIA's decision, which bans her from playing professional tennis until 6 October 2026. The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles says she wants to "clear her name" and has claimed experts found she had inadvertently taken a contaminated supplement.

Roxadustat is a substance that can be legitimately used to treat anaemia. However, it is also on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list because it is considered a blood doping agent that increases haemoglobin and red blood cell production.  The biological passport system is designed to monitor an athlete's blood indicators over time to detect irregularities that could indicate doping. 

Halep is the first leading women's tennis player to be caught in the anti-doping net since Russia's Russian Maria Sharapova was suspended in 2016.