After being provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in October, former world No. 1 Simona Halep has urged the sport’s anti-doping agency to allow her the chance to clear her name. During the US Open last year, the former Wimbledon and French Open champion was tested, and both her A and B samples revealed the presence of the restricted blood-booster roxadustat.
Halep adamantly denies using an illegal substance with knowledge and claims to have proof that a tainted authorized supplement allowed trace amounts of an anti-anemia medicine to enter her system.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) stated in a statement that the ITIA, which was founded by the sport’s international governing bodies to supervise integrity issues including doping and corruption, is in charge of handling anti-doping cases. The Romanian said she has so far been denied her opportunity to be heard by an impartial court in her first interview since learning of her negative drug test.
Simona released the following statement on social media: “I’ve been provisionally suspended for 8 months even though I’ve sent all the evidence regarding my contamination to the ITF last December. I don’t ask for any special treatment, but to be able to get judged by the Tribunal. I feel it is unfair. How long is it going to last?”
Simona Halep in 2023
Ranked no.26, Simona played her last match on the 29th of August 2022 when she was defeated by world no.165 Daria Snigur 6-2 0-6 6-4 in the 1st round of the U.S. Open (draw).
This year Halep has achieved an overall 39-11 win-loss record.
