Simona Halep: Former Wimbledon champion banned for 4 years for doping offences

Ex-Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep has been banned for 4 years for anti-doping rule violations.

The 31-year-old Romanian tennis star has been banned for 2 separate doping offences, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) stated.

Halep has vowed to clear “my name of these false allegations”, and plans to enchantment.

The former world primary had been provisionally suspended since October 2022 after testing optimistic for banned blood-booster Roxadustat on the US Open final 12 months.

She was subsequently charged with irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport and each expenses have been upheld following an unbiased tribunal.

The panel concluded Halep “had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations”.

Halep, who gained Wimbledon in 2019 after beating Serena Williams within the ultimate and triumphed on the French Open a 12 months earlier, has denied wrongdoing.

What Halep says

In an announcement, she stated she “refused to accept” the four-year ban, which runs till October 2026.

She added: “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 enchantment this determination to The Court of Arbitration for Sport and pursue all authorized cures towards the complement firm in query.”

Halep has denied knowingly taking the banned substance and stated she had proof to point out that small quantities of the anaemia drug entered her system from a licensed complement that was contaminated.

She stated she had adjusted her dietary dietary supplements forward of the onerous courtroom season final 12 months following recommendation from her “trusted team and physiotherapist”.

“None of the listed ingredients included any prohibited substances. However, we now know – and the tribunal agreed – one of them was contaminated with Roxadustat,” she stated.

What ITIA says

ITIA stated it had “accepted” Halep’s argument that that they had taken a contaminated complement, however decided the quantity the participant ingested couldn’t have resulted within the focus of Roxadustat discovered within the optimistic pattern.

The second cost pertains to irregularities in Halep’s organic passport. Such passports present a baseline studying of drugs in an athlete’s physique and are thought-about a approach to assist chart doping.

ITIA stated the cost was additionally upheld as three unbiased consultants had been unanimous that “likely doping” was the reason for the irregularities in Halep’s profile.