Simona Halep was quick to react. Only a few minutes after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced her four-year suspension for a positive doping test for roxadustat and for irregularities in her biological passport, the 31-year-old Romanian said on his social networks his “intention to appeal this decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)”.
“I continue to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false accusations and return to the court,” says the former world number 1, winner of Roland-Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019. I have never taken any banned product intentionally. I refuse to accept the four-year suspension. »
First player convicted since Sharapova
Provisionally suspended since October 2022, Halep was sentenced until October 6, 2026 for a positive test for roxadustat dating from her defeat in the first round of the US Open in August 2022. Her case worsened in May 2023, with the announcement from the ITIA of irregularities in its biological passport, an electronic file compiling the results of all biological samples during anti-doping controls.
“I have dedicated my life to the magnificent sport of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and I make it a point of honor to say that I have never intentionally used a doping product”
Halep is the first leading player caught in the anti-doping net since the resounding suspension of Maria Sharapova in 2016. Testing positive for meldonium, the Russian star ultimately received a fifteen-month suspension.
“The last year was the hardest match of my life and unfortunately my fight continues,” explains Halep. I have dedicated my life to the magnificent sport of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and I make a point of saying that I have never intentionally used a performance-enhancing product.
I am shocked and disappointed by this decision. I believe in clean sport and in almost 20 years of professional career I have had 200 urine and blood tests, all of which were negative. All except that of August 29, 2022. For the hard season, on the recommendation of my team and my physiotherapist, in whom I trust, I adjusted my intake of food supplements. None of the ingredients contained banned products, which the court confirmed, and one of them was contaminated with roxadustat. I have been tested almost every week in early 2023 since testing positive and they all came back negative. »
