Holger Rune’s current coach Patrick Mouratoglou has huge experience and after partnering with Simona Halep in the past, he can’t refrain from supporting her. The Romanian player is hit with second anti-doping charge. After testing positive for doping last year, Simona Halep, a two-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1, has been charged with a second anti-doping rule violation and is currently on a temporary suspension.
The athlete biological passport (ABP) for Halep revealed abnormalities, according to information released by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Friday following an evaluation of her profile by a team of independent experts. Anti-doping organizations employ the biological passport system to continuously track an athlete’s different blood markers in order to spot any discrepancies that might point to rule violations.
For Halep’s case, the second doping allegation is disastrous. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, echoed her claim that the anti-doping organizations were harassing her as she responded to the fresh accusation.
Mouratoglou took on social media asking for the end of the ITIA to “harass” Simona with the following message:
“First of all, I want to say that I had planned to stay away from any public comments on Simona Halep’s case as I truly believed that the ITIA would conduct a fair investigation to establish the truth. The fact that I don’t have the same feeling at all now is disturbing, and has finally brought me to write these few words. I have been lucky to meet Simona Halep in April 2022 and we have worked together since then.
I want to say a few words about her for those who haven’t ever met her: I discovered in Simona a very rare person. She is kind, she is sweet, she feels no aggressiveness and no jealousy towards anybody. She has devoted all her life to tennis. It is a childhood passion. Not her father’s, not her mother’s, only hers. It is an evidence that she has received the best education filled with extremely strong values that she keeps inside.”
Then he added: “That is why I ask the ITIA to stop this harassment that is inconceivable and to stop constantly delaying the hearing that should have been held in February and is now planned at the end of May.”
Rune in Rome, ranking, and results in 2023
LWWLWWLLWW Ranked world no.7 (career-high), Holger has managed to achieve an overall 27-9 record in 2023. Holger is now playing in Rome where he managed to beat the world no.119 Arthur Fils 6-3 6-3, the world no.130 Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-2, the world no.77 Alexei Popyrin 6-4 5-7 6-4, the world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-2 4-6 6-2 and the world no.4 Casper Ruud 6-72 6-4 6-2.
Rune has won 1 title in 2023 in Munich. The Dane got to the final in Monte-Carlo (Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters).
The Dane won 4 titles in his career: 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rune will play next at the French Open (French Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of May.
