The tennis world has a real scandal! As was officially announced on Friday, former world number one Simona Halep tested positive for doping. The Romanian has already been provisionally banned.
The suspension was officially confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Friday.
It’s about a doping test from August this year, during the US Open in New York. Halep tested positive for the banned substance Roxadustat, as she announced on Friday.
Similar to the better-known erythropoietin (EPO), the agent is intended to ensure better oxygen supply, as it stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells. Generally, roxadustat is used for kidney disease.
After the A sample was already positive, the 31-year-old applied for the B sample to be opened. This has now been opened and confirmed the previous result.
Halep himself informed about the two positive doping tests in an emotional Instagram post on Friday.
“I was told that I had tested positive for a substance called roxadustat at an extremely low level,” Halep said.
In her professional career, “it never once occurred to her to cheat because it violates all the values that I was taught. In this unfair situation, I feel cheated and irritated at the same time,” it continues.
“I will fight to the end. This isn’t about money or titles, it’s about the love for this game that I’ve been playing for 25 years,” wrote what was once the world’s best tennis player on social media.
Halep celebrated two Grand Slam victories
Halep spoke of the “biggest shock” of her life. After her first-round defeat in New York, she recently had an operation on her nose and declared her tennis year 2022 to be over in mid-September.
Halep is currently ranked ninth in the WTA rankings. The Romanian celebrated her greatest successes in Paris in 2018 and in Wimbledon in 2019. She was able to win both Grand Slam tournaments in these years and, with 24 WTA tournament victories, is considered one of the most successful tennis players of the last ten years.