Current:Home > ContactTwo-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Simona Halep suspended four years for doping -TradeCircle
Two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Simona Halep suspended four years for doping
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:46:18
Former top-ranked player and two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Tuesday.
The 31-year-old tennis star from Romania was suspended in October 2022 for failing a drug test, testing positive for the banned substance Roxadustat, which is sold as an anti-anemia medication for kidney disease. The ITIA said it confirmed the presence of roxadustat in Halep at the 2022 US Open and irregularities in Halep’s athlete biological passport.
The agency said despite hearing from Halep and her expert scientific witnesses, it determined she committed doping offenses as independent experts ruled "likely doping" was the explanation behind the athlete biological passport.
"On 11 September 2023, the tribunal confirmed that it had found the player had committed intentional Anti-Doping Rule Violations," the agency said.
The suspension, which began in October, will run until October 6, 2026.
Simona Halep responds to suspension
The 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon winner said in a statement she plans to appeal the suspension and "do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court."
Halep said she has taken hundreds of "clean" blood and urine tests until August 2022, when she adjusted her nutritional supplements. She said an ingredient was contaminated with roxadustat and she has tested negatively for the substance since the initial positive test.
"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.
"The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues," Halep said. "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."
Halep's last match was her first-round loss in the 2022 US Open to Daria Snigur.
veryGood! (95693)
Related
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Rumor sends hundreds of migrants rushing for U.S. border at El Paso, but they hit a wall of police
- Some advice from filmmaker Cheryl Dunye: 'Keep putting yourself out where you belong'
- When Whistler's model didn't show up, his mom stepped in — and made art history
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- 'Wait Wait' for July 8, 2023: 25th Anniversary Spectacular, Part IV!
- 'Mission: Impossible' is back, but will you accept it, or will it self-destruct?
- 'Barbie' invites you into a Dream House stuffed with existential angst
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Ashley Park Reveals What It’s Like Working With Selena Gomez on Only Murders in the Building
Ranking
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Presley Gerber Gets Candid on His Depression, Mental Health and “Mistakes”
- Abbott Elementary's Chris Perfetti Is Excited for Fans to See the Aftermath of That Moment
- Transcript: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Face the Nation, March 12, 2023
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Former Shell CEO's pay package jumped 50% amid soaring energy prices
- Why Malaysia Pargo Is Stepping Back From Basketball Wives
- Soccer player dies after collapsing during practice in South Africa
Recommendation
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Chaim Topol, Israeli actor best known for Fiddler on the Roof, dies at 87
In 'No Hard Feelings,' Jennifer Lawrence throws herself into comedy
An Orson Welles film was horribly edited — will cinematic justice finally be done?
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
The Traitors Reunion Teaser Shows the Aftermath of Season 1’s Shocking Finale
Transcript: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Face the Nation, March 12, 2023
NEA announces 2024 Jazz Masters including Terence Blanchard and Gary Bartz