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11 months ago
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Simona Halep has said that if her four-year doping ban is upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport at her appeal in February, her career will most likely be over.
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.
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'.
Simona Halep has admitted that if she does not win her doping appeal in February, her career is most likely over
Once ranked world No 1, Halep has been out of action since August 2022 after her positive test
Halep has won two grand slams - Wimbledon, in 2019 (pictured) and the 2018 French Open
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.
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 interview, Halep stressed that the experience had shaken her faith and made it hard to trust others
Her former coach Patrick Mouratoglou has admitted responsibility for supply the supplement which happened to be contaminated
'We were able to determine where the contamination came from,' the coach stated. 'We suggested that she take the collagen and we bought it from a company. This collagen happened to be contaminated.
'I had no way of knowing, but I feel responsible for what happened because it's about my team and me. We brought her this collagen.
'We have done all possible tests to determine that we are talking about a contamination. I am very confident that this independent tribunal will admit that Simona has never doped, that she is a victim and must return to the field and be able to play as soon as possible.'
In the interview, Halep confirmed that she had cut ties with Mouratoglou, and lamented the timing of his statement.
'Indeed, it came out publicly,' Halep said of Mouratoglou's November statement. 'I wish I had done this a little sooner.
'I stopped working with Academia (Mouratoglou) for some time. I've always had faith, and my faith is now a little shaken.
'In the future, I don't know how it will be, if I will be able to trust again.'
The player will appeal the September ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in February
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.'
Halep added: 'This group ignored the fact no prohibited substance has ever been found in my blood or urine samples with the sole exception of one August 29 positive test for roxadustat'.
Williams - who was bested by Halep in SW19 in 2019 - was among her rivals to react on social media, posting '8 is a better number' on X (formerly Twitter), seemingly in reference to the record-breaking champion's seven Wimbledon titles.
Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard posted 'I was told not to tweet today (hand over mouth emoji)' and Nick Kyrgios urged players to 'stop taking shady s***' in response to Maria Sakkari's description of the 'stressful' anti-doping process.
English (US)