Simona Halep (32 years old) has been called up to the Romania team for the Billie Jean King Cup.
Following the favorable decision from the CAS in her doping case, Simona Halep has received a wild card for the Miami Open, a tournament scheduled to take place between March 19-31. In addition to the Miami tournament, Simona has also been called up to the Romania team for the Billie Jean King Cup.
Horia Tecău, the non-playing captain of the Romania Billie Jean King Cup team, has selected Simona Halep for the team for the match against Ukraine. On the official competition website, the Romania team comprises Simona Halep, Ana Bogdan, Jaqueline Cristian, and Anca Todoni.
Romania will face Ukraine on April 12-13 in the play-off for qualification to the final tournament, with the match set to be held in the United States on clay.
The Ukrainian team consists of Elina Svitolina, Lesia Tsurenko, Lyudmila Kichenok, and Nadia Kichenok.
Being part of the Romania Billie Jean King Cup team could secure Simona Halep a spot at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Before departing to Miami, Simona stated her desire to participate in the Olympics, mentioning that she will do everything necessary to qualify.
The main criterion for Olympic participation is the WTA ranking, from which Simona has been "cleared" due to losing all her points following the doping scandal. However, she can still qualify if she achieves a good ranking by June 10, 2024. Additionally, the player must have been nominated to the Billie Jean King Cup team of her country between the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 editions, with one of the nominations occurring in 2023 or 2024. Or if she has accumulated at least 20 appearances in the BJK Cup throughout her career, a criterion that Halep does not meet, having featured in the nation competition encounters 15 times.
Moreover, she should be among the top 56 players in the world, a benchmark that will shift towards the top 100 considering that each country is entitled to a maximum of 4 athletes registered for singles.
“I wish to play in the Olympics and I will do everything necessary to qualify, although the chances are slim. Horia Tecău wrote me a message, I told him that we will meet in Miami and discuss face to face,” conveyed Simona Halep upon leaving Romania for Miami.