Doping Ban: Simona Halep fears possible end to career
Former World No.1 Simona Halep has expressed fears that her career may hit the rocks if her four-year doping ban is upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport at her appeal in February.
The 32-year-old was handed the suspension in September after she was found to have ingested banned substance roxadustat from a urine sample at the 2022 US Open.
In the course of the investigation, the International Tennis Integrity Agency also discovered irregularities in her blood passport system.
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Despite Halep stating that the presence of the drug – which is used to treat anaemia – found in her system was at ‘an extremely low level’ and that trace amounts she had taken stemmed from an adjustment to her supplements, the ITIA determined that ‘the volume ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found’.
Their verdict when on to state that ‘they had no reason to doubt the unanimous “strong opinion” of three independent experts that “likely doping” was the explanation’.
The punishment is the longest handed out in the sport since Maria Sharapova’s 2016 suspension and is set to run until 2026, after the former French Open champion will turn 36.
And an interview with Euronews Romania, Halep described the possibility of failing to overturn the ruling ‘catastrophic’.
‘If it will be four years, I don’t know how I will manage,’ Halep said. ‘It will probably be the end of my career.
‘And for something I didn’t do and it’s not my fault, it’s even more catastrophic’.
Halep hired her coach Patrick Mouratoglou in 2022, and the Frenchman has since admitted responsibility for introducing her to the supplement that was contaminated.
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The Romanian player has maintained her innocence throughout the process.
In November, Mouratoglou – who previously worked with Serena Williams – said he was ‘confident’ that Halep’s appeal to CAS would be successful.
In the wake of September’s ruling, the former Wimbledon champion hit out at the experts that had accused her of doping claiming that the ITIA ‘relied solely on the opinions of these experts who looked only at my blood parameters – which I’ve maintained for more than 10 years in the same range.’