Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) executive director Ahmad Nassar believes tennis should do more to protect players after Simona Halep was allowed to return to tennis.
Halep was suspended in October 2022 after failing two drug tests following the US Open. The former world number one was initially banned for four years, but a ruling earlier in March by the Court of Arbitration for Sport slashed her suspension to nine months.
The reduced ban means Halep can immediately return to tennis, and the two-time grand-slam winner is set to make her return at the upcoming Miami Open.
When asked whether players in situations like Halep's should receive help to gain back what she has lost during her time away, Nassar told Stats Perform: "Should there be? Absolutely. Will there be? Probably not. For tennis, this is a much broader issue in terms of governance.
"Think about Simona’s case. Where did this happen, at the US Open? And so you give the Tour the cover to say 'well, it wasn't actually one of our events'. It was, and we didn't admit it. There has to be an answer.
"The net effect is the player gets doubly penalised."
Now 32, Halep will be a wildcard at the Miami Open.
In Nassar's view, that is an opportunity that not every player in a similar situation would be fortuitous enough to receive.
"I don't want to use the word lucky," Nassar explained. "But Simona is unique in the sense that she's already gotten, 24 hours later, a wildcard to Miami, a WTA 1000 event.
"Ninety-nine per cent of players who go through anything like this will not get that. What do they have to do? Well, they have to go play maybe universal tennis events, and then WTA 125s and get back into it. That could take a year, easily.
"Getting back, building your ranking up, getting your points up, getting the money to be able to go back out there. It becomes really overly punitive at that point."
Nassar is hopeful that Halep can return to her top form, which saw her claim French Open and Wimbledon triumphs in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
He added: "What I'll say is this. Athletes who have been unfairly treated often use that as fuel and motivation when they're back. And so I would not be surprised in the least if that was the case.
"But at the same time, I don't want to make light of what Simona and other athletes who go through this type of nightmare have to endure. We definitely wish her all the best."
Nassar also called out some in tennis for their lack of initial support for Halep, continuing: "It's been interesting to see that decision come out.
"It's like everybody is saying 'welcome back' with open arms. And I have to ask myself, where were these people for 17 months?
"The process was not okay. And it's still not okay."
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Linette dominates first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague Open
Magda Linette rounded off her Olympic preparations in style as she claimed her third WTA title with a comfortable win over Magdalena Frech at the Prague Open.
Linette, who beat Viktoriya Tomova and Linda Noskova on her way to the final, won in straight sets 6-2 6-1 as she now heads to Paris to face Mirra Andreeva.
The world number 41 was in the ascendency from the off, forcing a break in the fourth game and never looking back.
Despite the best efforts of Frech, who saved one set point, Linette continued to apply the pressure and another break put her a set up.
Linette would again break in the fourth game of the second set, winning three games on the bounce to secure her first career win over her compatriot.
Data Debrief: Linette prevails in first all-Polish affair
The final in Prague between Linette and Frech was the first all-Polish WTA level final in the Open Era.
Linette's triumph over her opponent was her first, having lost in the pair's previous encounter in Saint-Malo back in 2022.
During the contest, the world number 41 gave nothing away, saving all four of the break points she faced while converting three of the seven she had against Frech.
Nadal suffers injury 'setback' as Olympics participation thrown into doubt
Rafael Nadal may be facing another injury setback at the Paris Olympic Games after his coach warned over the Spaniard's fitness.
The 22-time major champion is widely expected to retire at the end of this year, though is preparing for a final swansong at Roland-Garros, where he has won 14 titles.
Nadal is set to play in the singles and doubles tournaments of the Olympics, partnering current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz for the latter competition.
Yet his participation has become doubtful after coach Carlos Moya confirmed Nadal had cancelled his training session on Thursday due to a hamstring issue.
"It was a setback and we decided that today Rafa would rest and not train to recover," Moya said, as quoted by Spanish journalist Rafael Plaza.
"We are going to give ourselves 48 hours, we have to wait."
The 38-year-old is reportedly feeling soreness in both his left and right hamstring having pulled out of a scheduled practice session with Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz had been partnering Nadal throughout the week during training on the clay courts of Paris, though the veteran's feature has now been thrown under a cloud of doubt.
Nadal is one of just two players to have won Olympic gold in both singles and doubles since the sport returned to the Games in 1988, doing so at Beijing 2008 (singles) and Rio 2016 (doubles).
In the singles in the French capital, Nadal has been drawn against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the opening round, and the prize could be a second-round date with long-term rival Novak Djokovic.
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