Two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep Given a four-year ban for anti-doping rule violations, the International Tennis The Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Tuesday.
Halep, who has previously denied wrongdoing, responded to the announcement by saying she would appeal and “never knowingly or knowingly used any banned substance.”
He added: “I continue to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of the false allegations and return to court.”
The former world No. 1, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, was charged with two separate violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
The first, ITIA said, was related to Halep testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat – which is listed on the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List – at last year’s US Open.
According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), roxadustat is a class of drugs called HIF-stabilizing agents and can increase an athlete’s red blood cell count and improve endurance performance.
The second charge is for irregularities at Halep’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)which is designed to monitor selected biological variables in an athlete over time.
“The tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that they had taken a contaminated supplement, but determined that the amount ingested by the player could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in the positive sample,” the ITIA said in a press release.
“The ABP charge was also upheld, with the tribunal saying they had no reason to doubt the unanimous ‘strong opinion’ reached by each of the three independent experts at the Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU ) that ‘probable doping’ is the explanation for the irregularities in Halep’s profile.â€
The ITIA said the 31-year-old’s suspension was backdated and will run from October 7, 2022, to October 6, 2026, and said the case is subject to appeal.
Halep, whose most recent appearance was last year at the US Open, has been suspended since October 2022.
“Today, a tribunal under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program announced a provisional decision in my case,” he said in a statement. “Last year was the hardest game of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues.”
Halep added that she adjusted her nutritional supplements before the hard-court season in 2022. She said that none of the listed ingredients included any banned substances, but accepted that one of which is contaminated with roxadustat.
“I was tested almost every week after my first positive test until early 2023, when everything came back negative,” Halep said.
The Romanian added that he is “eternally grateful” for the support from his friends, family and fans and that he will “appeal this decision to The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and pursue all legal remedy against the supplement company in question.â€
Speaking to CNN Sport on Tuesday, Patrick Mouratoglou, who coaches Halep, said he was “very shocked” by the decision and expected the four-year ban, if upheld, “may mean the end of her career.”
He added: “I was surprised because I was able to be with him throughout the process. And the decision was absolutely, for me, impossible to understand … I was in the hearing with him throughout and I sat there and I listened to everything for two days.
“Listening to what I heard and the evidence and everything, I don’t understand how it is possible to condemn him.
“Of course, he will go to CAS … I hope people will see it as fair and let him go.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said: “It is of the utmost importance for players to know the rules of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program and follow them.
“The Independent Tribunal made its decision surrounding Simona’s case and under the TADP, the decision can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The WTA will support the decisions reached through the process and will continue to follow them.” alright.
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