Simona Halep banned for doping - "Toughest match of my life"
Two-time major winner Simona Halep has been provisionally banned for violating doping guidelines.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Oct 21, 2022, 04:19 pm
This was announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Friday afternoon.
What stood out was a sample at the US Open this year that contained roxadustrate - a drug that is prohibited according to guidelines. The B sample had confirmed that. Halep has therefore been temporarily suspended and is not allowed to compete.
She had declared her 2022 season over on September 15 due to a nose job. According to the ITIA, she only found out about the positive sample afterwards, on October 7th.
Halep: "The biggest shock of my life"
The Romanian expressed herself a short time later.
"Today begins the toughest match of my life: a fight for the truth," she wrote on Twitter. The information that a small dose of roxadustat was in her body was "the biggest shock of my life".
Throughout her career, the thought of cheating never even crossed her mind, "because it's completely contrary to the values I was raised with." She feels "confused and betrayed". And will fight to the end to prove that she never knowingly used a prohibited substance. "I have faith that sooner or later the truth will come out." This time it's not about titles or money, but honor, says Halep. "And the love affair I've developed with the game of tennis over the past 25 years."
Roxadustrate is an HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor that stimulates the production of hemoglobin and erythrocytes. It is used as a drug for the oral treatment of anemia resulting from chronic kidney disease.