Simona Halep’s positive doping finding surprised the tennis world. The Romanian star admitted that she was devastated by the accusations and immediately found support, according to many she is one of the most honest players on the circuit. Maria Sharapova’s fans, on the other hand, point to a double standard, in 2016, a wave of immediate condemnation rose against the Russian player.
Roxadustat. The word that wakes Simona Halep from sleep. During the recent US Open, this drug was found in the blood of the former world number one containing a banned substance with similar effects to EPO, a hormone popular especially among rogue endurance athletes.
Roxadustat is used to treat anemia caused by chronic kidney disease, it stimulates the production of hemoglobin and red blood cells.
“During my entire career, I have never even thought about cheating, it would be completely against the principles in which I was brought up. In the face of such injustice, I feel completely confused and cheated,” said the thirty-one-year-old holder of two Grand Slam titles. She faces a four-year ban.
Halepova intends to defend her honor to the last breath. According to her, an “extremely low amount” of the banned substance was found in her blood sample.
“It’s not about titles or money. It’s a matter of honor and love for the game that I’ve built over the last twenty-five years. This is the biggest shock of my life,” she added.
In the meantime, emotional descriptions of her strong character built on honor and a sense of fair play are heading for the public space from those around the popular tennis player.
Renowned coach Darren Cahill, with whom Halepova worked for six years, recalled how the Romanian wanted to check every dietary supplement she used twice or rather three times.
“Unless you’re absolutely sure it’s clean, I won’t take it,” she used to say.
“We believed in the anti-doping program, she underwent all the tests without reservations. Her integrity is impeccable. The possibility that Simona would have deliberately taken any banned substance is absolutely zero,” said the Australian.
He described his former charge as a person incapable of lying. “Honesty has always been her greatest strength and at the same time her biggest weakness. We’ve often laughed at how she can’t fake anything or tell even a little lie. That’s Simona. She’s built an amazing career by always doing the right thing,” Cahill said.
Romanian billionaire Toni Iuruc also offered a similar image of the tennis player, even though his marriage with Halep lasted only a year from last September.
“I swear that this girl, my ex-wife, is obsessed with one thing – honesty. You can take anything from Simona, but if you take away her honor, her justice, you will kill her. She will no longer be human,” the Romanian billionaire confided to the media, adding: “Something Simona wouldn’t do that, even if you wanted to cut off her hand.”
Iuruc said Halep refused even a bottle of water if someone other than herself opened it, and she didn’t even swallow vitamin C unless a doctor first approved it.
“It must be some kind of mistake. Simona is a woman brought up with morals and an obligation to the truth. She has principles that she would not give up for anything in the world,” he pointed out.
Even many neutral tennis personalities, such as legendary doubles player Rennae Stubbsová or former number one Kim Clijstersová, do not believe in her guilt.
“It’s not fair, but you will win this battle,” the Frenchwoman Alize Cornet supported her opponent.
Halep was offered immediate help by the players’ organization PTPA, founded by Novak Djokovic. “We will fight for her rights and strive to promote fairness and transparency for all players,” the statement read.
Until now, the biggest tennis star punished for doping was the winner of five Grand Slams, Maria Sharapova.
In 2016, at the Australian Open, the Russian tested positive for meldonium, which she had been taking for a long time and which was included on the list of prohibited substances only immediately before the incriminated season. Her original two-year sentence was later reduced to 15 months.
And it is in the camp of fans of the former Russian superstar that there is irritation at the kind of support Halepova is receiving even before the newest doping case was cracked.
“The Russian tennis player received practically no confidence at the time and was ostracized by the tennis community,” wrote the website Sportskeeda, referring to the Twitter posts of Sharapova’s supporters.
“Sharapova was defamed, bullied, ridiculed. A lot of cheap articles were written, but Simona is not responsible? It’s hypocritical,” the portal quoted one of the reactions.
“It’s much easier to trash someone you don’t like. People are willing to give Halep the benefit of the doubt they were never willing to give Sharapova,” read another echo.
Six and a half years ago, the famous Russian player immediately admitted her guilt at a press conference in Los Angeles. She had been using Meldonium for the previous ten years to prevent diabetes, which was prevalent in her family. Sharapova defended herself by saying that she overlooked the e-mail informing about the inclusion of the substance among the prohibited ones.
