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Simona Halep has finally broken her silence regarding her doping suspension. Her surprising revelations have caused a stir among tennis fans, who have taken to social media to express their frustration.
In October 2022, Halep was issued a provisional suspension by the ITIA for testing positive for a banned substance called Roxadustat during the US Open. With six months passing by without any trial or resolution, Halep has now come forward and opened up about the handling of her case.
In an interview on Thursday, the Romanian stated that she was completely unaware of the banned substance and had to search the internet for information about it. She further claimed that after consultation with the experts, the cause of her positive test was determined to be ‘supplement contamination.’
Halep further stated that the ITF ignored her submissions despite the fact that she furnished evidence promptly. She also disclosed that although the revised date of the ITF hearing is May 28, that could be canceled as well.
Halep believes that such a delay is unfair, and she repeatedly questioned the postponement of the hearing.
"The next step is a hearing at the end of May, the 28th, but it is very fragile because the ITF said that they might cancel it as well. I believe that it’s not fair to spend eight months without even being judged by the Tribunal," Halep said.
“Emotionally, the whole period has not been easy,” she added. “I’m not asking for special treatment. I just ask to be judged. How much longer is this going to take?"
After her revelations, scores of tennis fans rallied behind Halep and asked the ITF and the WTA for answers. Many fans accused the governing bodies of corruption.
“The most respectful and calm player out there running out of patience and speaking up about @ITFTennis tells you a lot about their corruption. I don’t remember any other player waiting for so long to get a hearing. If I didn’t know better I’d say this is xenophobia,” one fan remarked.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. #ITF,” another fan said.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"You deserve a quick hearing" - Simona Halep’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou extends public support
Simona Halep added Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou to her team in April 2022. Under his mentorship, Halep made the semifinals of Wimbledon, lifted her ninth WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open, and re-entered the Top-10 of the WTA rankings.
However, things fell apart when she was issued a provisional suspension for doping. When the news broke, Mouratoglou publicly voiced his support for Halep.
After her latest revelation, he once again backed up her pleas by taking to social media.
“You deserve a quick hearing so that you can expose your case and be judged,” Mouratoglou wrote in an Instagram comment.
