PARIS —Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep said that she will “fight until the end” to prove she did not knowingly take a prohibited substance after she was provisionally suspended for doping.
A sample that Halep provided during the US Open in August showed traces of Roxadustat, a drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells and is used in the treatment of patients with kidney problems, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said.
Halep, the current world number nine, said the positive test was “the biggest shock of my life”.
“Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with,” the Romanian tennis star tweeted according to AFP.
“Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed. I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and I have faith that, sooner or later, the truth will come out.
“It’s not about the titles or money. It’s about honour, and the love story I have developed with the game of tennis over the last 25 years,” the former world number one added.
The 31-year-old said an “extremely low quantity” of the substance had been found in her body.
“I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and I have faith that sooner or later, the truth will come out,” Halep added.
The 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion had ended her season in mid-September after having nose surgery.
She said that in February she had considered ending her career but she began working with Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou and her form briefly rebounded.
She reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year and won in Toronto to reach No.6 in the rankings in August before slipping back to ninth.
The ITIA, which oversees tennis’ anti-doping programme, said it had informed her on October 7 that she was being provisionally suspended.
Halep will now be expected to appeal against the result of her drugs test. Sharapova tested positive for the heart drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open and was banned for two years before she had her suspension cut to 15 months on appeal at the court of arbitration for sport.
The ruling found that the five-time grand-slam champion had no intention of violating the regulations.
In an interview with the Guardian this year, Halep described how her career had pushed her body to the limit and said a struggle to return from injury at the beginning of this year caused her to contemplate retirement.
“I played well in [the Australian Open]. But then after I lost in Doha [in the first round of the Qatar Open in February], I was down again,” she said. “I actually told my family and my close ones that I probably am done with tennis because I felt like I have no more power to fight and to stay there to be resilient.”
Halep said that working with a new coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who used to work with Williams, had given her the inspiration to continue playing. She is currently ranked No 9 in the world, but ended her season after her 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 defeat to Snigur in order to undergo nasal surgery.
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