Former tennis number one Simona Halep, who is serving a four-year ban, told Euronews in an interview that she will appear at the CAS international sports arbitration with her head held high because she knows she has never used doping .
Halep tested positive for doping last fall during the US Open. Both samples A and B from the Romanian woman contained roxadustat, a substance used to treat the symptoms of anemia caused by chronic kidney failure in adults and which falls into the same class as EPO on the list of banned substances.
Halep claimed that her dietary supplement was contaminated with a small amount of the substance, but according to the independent commission that investigated the violation, the amount of substance detected in the doping-positive sample was too large to be explained by unknown consumption; adding that, according to three independent experts, the probable cause of the inconsistencies in the Romanian woman’s biological passport is the use of doping. In September the ITIA, an organization that fights for the purity of tennis, imposed a four-year ban on Halep, in October the former number one appealed against the decision to sports arbitration. Final clarity should arrive in February.
“Every day has been very painful, very emotional, because I know I haven’t done anything wrong and I’m clean,” Halep told Euronews in a long television interview this week. “I have always been openly anti-doping, so I never even considered something like this. The news of the positive doping test came as a shock to me. It was very difficult for me emotionally and has undoubtedly affected my mental health. “
“Three days before the positive urine test, I took a negative blood and urine test. I was told from the beginning that the amount of the banned substance was minimal and that I could not dope during those three days. I never wanted to do it. do something disrespectful towards tennis: these are not my principles. I am confident in sports refereeing”, added Halep.
“The support for me has been amazing,” Halep continued. “I have received many good and positive wishes and this has given me the strength to fight every day for the purity of my name, to prove that I have done nothing wrong. My competitors have also shown me their support and this means ” A lot for me. We are opponents on the pitch, but when I’m at my worst, they are there for me. All this helps me stay strong in difficult times.”
At the beginning of November, Patrick Mouratoglou, the Romanian’s former coach, also commented on Halep’s doping case, saying that he feels responsible because one of his assistants gave Halep the food supplement. “It could have been made public earlier. My cooperation [Mouratoglou] the academy is long over. I always had faith in my previous teams, but now my trust has been betrayed. I don’t know if he will be able to recover in the future. If I hire someone and want to work with them, there has to be trust between us,” Halep said.
According to the Romanian, a negative decision for her would most likely mean the end of her career. “Four years is a long time considering my age. For an athlete who has been involved in this field for 25 years and has dedicated his life to it, a four-year ban would be catastrophic. And since I am not guilty, it would be even more catastrophic.”
2023-12-17 10:39:00
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