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18-year-old Romanian tennis player Maria Sara Popa, who trained at Simona Halep’s ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy, recently came forward with an allegation against the institution. She claimed that the tennis players who train there are given “some substances” to consume during their junior years after signing a supposed agreement for consent.
In conversation with AS.ro, Popa revealed that she trained at the Frenchman's academy when she was 12 years old. She noted that since junior tennis players are relatively less supervised by the anti-doping agency, the hopefuls are supplied with “substances” until they are 17 years old, which is when the anti-doping test becomes more frequent.
"I went when I was 12 years old. I played at the Mouratoglou Academy. It is true, from a young age, athletes are given some substances. In juniors, you are not controlled by Anti-doping. They let you grow up a little more, to turn 17, and from then on, the checks start more intensively," Popa claimed.
Maria Sara Popa added that the juniors and their parents are made to sign an agreement for consent. She also confessed to being scared when she was initially asked to do so.
"Players and parents must agree. They are given a sheet and must sign to agree to take that substance. The first time I was scared, I really didn't know what was happening," she said.
The 18-year-old also claimed that the athletes who resort to illegal substances are the ones who do not get caught since they are aware of when to consume and when to eliminate such things.
"There are athletes who take those substances, only they don't get caught because they know exactly when to eliminate the substance and they know exactly when to take them. I, for example, was tested weekly and never took. But I can't put my hand in the fire for the other athletes," Simona Halep's compatriot said.
"Supplements are different from the substances that the physical trainers and doctors at the Academies give to the athletes. Supplements are exactly the daily pills that every person can take," she continued.
"Maybe people from Patrick Mouratoglou Academy should have been careful too" - Maria Sara Popa on Simona Halep's doping trial
Simona Halep was being coached by Patrick Mouratoglou when she tested positive for a banned substance called Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. The Romanian was later slapped with a four-year suspension on account of two doping violations.
Halep, who has maintained her innocence throughout, pointing at contamination of her supplements, recently appealed her ban. She is now awaiting the verdict after her three-day CAS hearing concluded last week (February 7-10).
The former World No. 1’s compatriot, Maria Sara Popa, shared her views on the two-time Grand Slam champion’s doping trial during her recent conversation with AS.ro. The 18-year-old tennis player extended her support to her compatriot, saying:
"I want it to end well, as does every person who supports."
A few weeks after Simona Halep was handed a four-year ban, Patrick Mouratoglou, known for being Serena Williams’ longtime coach, confessed to “feeling responsible” for the whole ordeal. He admitted that it was his team that supplied Halep with the collagen supplement in question.
Regarding the matter, Popa opined that both Halep and Mouratoglou’s team should have been careful. She, however, refused to make any additional comments on the trial.
"There were mistakes on both sides. Maybe she should have been careful too, maybe the people from Mouratoglou should have been careful too, to tell her exactly when to give her that substance, perhaps. I don't know the details and I don't want to go into too much. We don't know the insides," she said.
