Simona Halep has tested positive for doping. The two-time Grand Slam winner submitted a positive urine sample at this year’s US Open and has been provisionally suspended, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Friday.
By our sports editorsHalep, 31, tested positive for roxadustat, a drug commonly used for anemia, during the US Open. Roxadustat has been on the list of banned substances of the world anti-doping agency WADA for some time. Both Halep’s A and B samples were positive.
Halep has been provisionally suspended as a result of the positive doping test. That means she is not allowed to participate in tournaments and other competitions. Halep last played at the US Open. Then the Romanian number nine in the world surprisingly lost in the first round to the Ukrainian Daria Snigur (WTA-119).
“Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for the truth,” Halep said on social media. “I have been informed that I have tested positive for the substance roxadustat in an extremely small amount. This is the biggest shock of my life.”
“Throughout my career, it’s never occurred to me to cheat because it’s completely against all the values I’ve been taught in my upbringing,” Halep continues. “This unfair situation has left me confused and feeling betrayed.”
“I will fight to the end to prove that I have never knowingly used banned substances. I am confident that the truth will come out sooner or later. It is not about the titles or the money. It is about the honor and love that I have developed for tennis over the past 25 years.”
Halep was the best tennis player in recent years
Halep is considered one of the best tennis players of recent years. The Romanian won Roland Garros in 2018, having previously reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament three times. A year later, a title at Wimbledon followed.
In addition, Halep conquered the number 1 position in the world ranking in 2017. She held the lead for no less than 64 weeks, up to and including the Australian Open in 2019. Only ten tennis players were leader for longer than the right-handed Romanian.
Halep does hold another record. She was in the top ten of the world rankings for 373 consecutive weeks: from January 2014 to August 2021. So far no one else has succeeded. In addition to the two Grand Slam titles, she won nine Masters tournaments.
In the past two years, Halep has gone downhill. She still reached the semifinals of Wimbledon this season, but did not progress beyond the fourth round at the other Grand Slam tournaments. At Roland Garros, she even got stuck in the second round, after which the biggest low in her career was yet to follow.
