The former tennis world number one Simona Halep (Romania) is temporarily suspended because of a positive doping test.
The 31-year-old was found to have the banned substance roxadustat during a test at the US Open in New York in August. The drug, which is used for kidney problems, among other things, increases the number of red blood cells and, similar to EPO, leads to better oxygen supply. After the positive A sample, Halep applied for the opening of the B sample, which confirmed the result.
Halep emotional: “I never cheated”
In an emotional statement, Halep assured that he had never cheated. That contradicts all the values with which she grew up: “I’ll fight to the end. This isn’t about money or titles, it’s about the love of this game that I’ve been playing for 25 years.” Halep had an operation on her nose after her first-round defeat in New York and declared her tennis year 2022 to be over in mid-September.
Halep is number nine in the current WTA world rankings.