Seven and a half months after getting a provisional doping suspension due to banned substance roxadustat detected in her body, Simona Halep is still awaiting the resolution of her case and suggests that the authorities are purposefully inventing reasons to continue her nightmare. To make matters worse, she has now even been charged with an additional violation related to “irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).”
Awaiting to present her case at the hearing scheduled for the end of May, the former world No.1 Halep took to social media to vent out her frustration with constant delays by the ITIA and their determination to prove that she’s a doper even though she has all the evidence that she was the victim of contamination.
The second doping charge the ITIA announced on Friday, explaining:
“The ABP programme, developed by the World Anti-Doping Agency and incorporated into the TADP under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), is a method by which anti-doping organisations monitor various blood parameters over time, to identify potential Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). The additional charge of an Adverse Passport Finding was based on an assessment of Ms. Halep’s ABP profile by an independent ABP Expert Panel.”
“I feel helpless facing such harassment and a motivation on their behalf to prove me guilty of something I never did,” the two-time Grand Slam champion wrote on Twitter. “Once again, all my life I have been totally against any sort of cheating.”
The 2018 French Open winner, who will miss this year’s major in Paris due to the suspension, claims that she is battling an unfair situation: “Not only has my name been soiled in the worst possible way, but I am facing a constant determination from the ITIA for a reason that I cannot understand, to prove my guilt while I haven’t EVER even thought of taking any illicit substance.”
Last month Halep explained that the presence of the banned substance in her blood during the 2022 US Open was attributed to a contaminated supplement, which was the mistake of the company producing the product. Regardless, the Romanian tennis ace continues to face major obstacles:
“Now that we have clearly established that I have been victim of a contamination, they came up with a so-called not normal evaluation of my blood. Three world renowned experts that have studied my blood tests have been extremely clear that my blood is totally normal.”
The only thing Halep hopes for at the moment is to finally get the opportunity to present her case in front of independent and impartial judges, which will give her a chance to prove her innocence.
…her defence is the supplement company accidentally contaminated her supplements with Roxadustat, a banned substance? lol…Good luck with that
Jacob, yes, as I understand she has proof for that, one whole batch was accidentally contaminated. I guess she can sue that company for damages. We’ll see what will come out of this.