Simona Halep, a former world number one from Romania, announced on Tuesday that she would appeal the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) decision to ban her for four years following two consecutive anti-doping code infractions to the highest court in sports.
After testing positive for the prohibited blood-booster roxadustat at the U.S. Open last year, where she lost in the first round, the 31-year-old former Wimbledon and French Open champion has been on a temporary suspension till October 2022.
In addition to blaming tainted supplements, Halep expressed her amazement and disappointment and said she “refused to accept their (ITIA) decision of a four-year ban,” which is effective until October 6, 2026.
This was her long statement.
Today, a tribunal under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme announced a tentative decision in my case. The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues. I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance. I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban.
“In a 126-page report, the tribunal found that I committed both charges brought by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) – an in-competition positive urine test for a prohibited substance and a breach of the Athlete Biological Passport Programme. My representatives and I presented the ITIA and the tribunal with compelling evidence in support of my defense, including multiple legitimate questions regarding the conclusions reached around my Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) testing. While I am grateful to finally have an outcome following numerous unfounded delays and a feeling of living in purgatory for over a year, I am both shocked and disappointed by their decision.
I believe in a clean sport and in almost two decades as a professional tennis player, through hundreds of tournaments and two Grand Slam titles, I have taken 200 blood and urine tests to check for prohibited substances – all of which have been clean, until August 29, 2022. Ahead of the hard court season in 2022, upon recommendation from my trusted team and physiotherapist, I adjusted my nutritional supplements. None of the listed ingredients included any prohibited substances however we now know – and the tribunal agreed – one of them was contaminated with roxadustat. I was tested almost weekly after my initial positive test through early 2023, all of which came back negative.
Despite this evidence, the ITIA brought an ABP charge only after its expert group learned my identity, causing two out of three to suddenly change their opinion in favor of ITIA’s allegations. The ITIA relied solely on the opinions of these experts who looked only at my blood parameters – which I’ve maintained for more than 10 years in the same range. This group ignored the fact no prohibited substance has ever been found in my blood or urine samples with the sole exception of one August 29 positive test for roxadustat, which was present at an extremely low level and which, when considering my negative test three days prior, could only have been caused by accidental exposure to roxadustat.
I am eternally grateful for the outpouring of support I have received from my family, friends, and tennis fans around the world. I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court. I intend to appeal this decision to The Court of Arbitration for Sport and pursue all legal remedies against the supplement company in question.”