Simona Halep banned from professional tennis for four years due to anti-doping breaches
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ByEurosport
Updated 12/09/2023 at 16:41 GMT
Simona Halep has been banned from tennis for four years after being ruled to have committed two breaches of Tennis' Anti-Doping Programme. Halep said she will appeal the decision made by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). Halep, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.
Simona Halep
Image credit: Getty Images
Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep has been banned from professional tennis for four years due to anti-doping breaches.
The two-time Grand Slam champion was already provisionally suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat at last year's US Open.
On Tuesday, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Halep has been handed a suspension of four years, stretching out to October 7, 2026.
In a statement, the ITIA said that Halep, a former world No. 1, had committed two breaches of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
The breaches were "the presence and use of roxadustat as evidenced in Halep’s urine sample collected on 29 August 2022 at the US Open" and "use of a prohibited substance or method during 2022, based on collection and analysis of 51 blood samples provided by the player as part of the ABP (Athlete Biological Passport) programme."
The ITIA's statement read: "The tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that they had taken a contaminated supplement, but determined the volume the player ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in the positive sample.
"The ABP charge was also upheld, with the tribunal stating that they had no reason to doubt the unanimous “strong opinion” reached by each of the three independent Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) experts that “likely doping” was the explanation for the irregularities in Halep’s profile."
Karen Moorhouse, Chief Executive Officer at the ITIA, said: “After a complex and rigorous hearing process, we welcome the independent tribunal’s decision.
“The volume of evidence for the tribunal to consider in both the roxadustat and ABP proceedings was substantial.
“The ITIA has followed the proper processes as we would with any other individual - in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code - fulfilling our purpose and responsibility to uphold the principle of fair competition, on behalf of the sport. The panel recognised that appropriate procedure had been followed within the written decision.
“We do understand the significant public interest in these cases and remain committed to being as transparent as possible and the full decision will be published in due course.”
Halep confirmed in her own statement that she will appeal the decision.
The statement read: “Today, a tribunal under the tennis anti-doping programme announced a tentative decision in my case. The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues.
“I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance. I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban.”
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