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Former World No. 1 Simona Halep has recently confirmed the termination of her coaching relationship with Patrick Mouratoglou. This comes amid her controversial doping ban.
On September 13, 2023, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) officially announced that Halep was facing suspension due to two separate violations of anti-doping rules. The Romanian tested positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open, and has been on the sidelines ever since.
The second charge was linked to the disparity discovered in her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), designed to monitor specific biological variables of an athlete over time.
In an interview with Euronews Romania on Friday (December 15), the 32-year-old revealed that she felt that her trust was broken by her ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Mouratoglou confirmed in an interview back in early November that the roxadustat in Halep's system was just from contamination. He added that the source of the contamination was a collagen that he recommended to her.
Expressing the wish that he had disclosed that information earlier, Halep mentioned that she has stopped working with the academy for a while now.
"It's true that he went out. I wish that he could have done that a little bit earlier. I have stopped working with the academy for a while already. So I always trusted this and my trust is broken a little bit right now and in the future, I don't know it's gonna be if I can trust again," Simona Halep said (from 0:28 - 0:46).
Simona Halep discusses the duration of her doping ban: "Four years is going to be a lot"
Simona Halep turned 32 in September this year, and she will be 35 when her ban expires in October 2026.
Despite the verdict, Halep has repeatedly maintained her innocence. The Romanian has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking a reduction in the sentence.
The two-time Grand Slam champion stated in the same interview with Euronews Romania that the duration of the ban would be too long for her.
"Four years is going to be a lot, at least for my age. For an athlete that has done 25 years every day doing this thing and dedicated my life to tennis and for sport. I don't know how it's going to be, but it's catastrophic," Simona Halep said ( from 0:01 - 0:19).
