Former Wimbledon Champion Simona Halep Handed 4-year Ban From Tennis For Doping

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• Sep 13, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced a four-year ban for former Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep on...

Digital Desk: The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced a four-year ban for former Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep on Tuesday, September 12, following two separate anti-doping rule violations. The 31-year-old Romanian tennis star had been provisionally suspended since October 2022 after testing positive for the banned blood-booster roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.

The first charge stemmed from an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for roxadustat during regular urine testing at the US Open in 2022. Halep vigorously denied knowingly taking the prohibited substance and asserted that minute amounts of the anaemia drug had entered her system through a contaminated licensed supplement. The tribunal acknowledged the contaminated supplement argument but determined that the volume consumed couldn't account for the concentration of roxadustat found in Halep's sample.

The second charge pertained to irregularities in Halep's Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). The ITIA upheld this charge, as three independent experts unanimously concluded that "likely doping" was the explanation for the anomalies in her ABP.

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Halep had expressed frustration over the prolonged adjudication process, given her provisional suspension. Roxadustat, a banned substance, is known to enhance endurance by promoting the growth of endogenous erythropoietin (EPO). Halep's ban serves as a stark reminder of the strict anti-doping measures in professional sports and the consequences for athletes who violate these rules, even if they claim contamination as a defense.