Romanian tennis player Simona Halep was removed from the field of participants at the US Open on Monday because of the provisional doping ban imposed on her.
The US Tennis Association announced that instead of the two-time Grand Slam winner, US professional Taylor Townsend will be in the main draw of the tournament that starts next Monday.
The former world number one Halep was provisionally suspended in October last year after a positive doping test.
Doping suspicion: tennis star Halep protests her innocence
A final judgment, planned for early August, had been postponed indefinitely by an independent court in London.
The 31-year-old Halep had given a positive sample while participating in the US Open in August 2022. The banned substance roxadustat, which was included in the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) banned list in 2022, was found on her.
Halep has always maintained her innocence, and she has also rejected new allegations of irregularities in her biological athlete passport.