Romania’s Simona Halep has been provisionally suspended for doping, confirmed the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Friday.
ITIA confirmed that the 31-year-old Romanian tennis player was provisionally suspended under Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
Halep, provided a sample (split into A and B samples) while at the US Open in August this year and the analysis found that the A sample contained FG-4592 (Roxadustat), which is a prohibited substance listed in the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.
ITIA said that the adverse analytical findings for non-specified substances carry a mandatory provisional suspension.
“The player exercised their right to request that the B sample was analysed, which confirmed the finding in the A sample. While provisionally suspended, the player is ineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned tennis events organised by the governing bodies of the sport,” the body said in a statement.
Halep, announced in September she was taking the rest of this season off after having nose surgery to improve her breathing. She considered retiring early this year after a series of injuries, but then said she felt rejuvenated after teaming up in April with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who used to work with Williams.
Seeded No. 7 at the U.S. Open, Halep lost in the first round to Daria Snigur of Ukraine 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 on Aug. 30. It was the first tour-level win of Snigur’s career.
The former world number one tennis star on Instagram said that this “came as the biggest shock of my life”.
“Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed. I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and I have faith that sooner or later the truth will come out about the titers or the money It’s about honor, and the love story I have developed with the game of tennis over the last 25 years,” she added.
The ITIA is the delegated third party, under the World Anti-Doping Code of the International Tennis Federation, the international governing body for the sport.
It is responsible for the management and administration of anti-doping across professional tennis in accordance with the 2022 TADP.
(with inputs from agencies)
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