Simona Halep was suspended for four years for doping. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Tuesday that an independent tribunal suspended the Romanian tennis player, following violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP)
Halep, 31, a two-time Grand Slam champion, was charged with two separate violations of the TAD.
The first concerned an analytical result (AAF) for the use of the banned substance “roxadustat” at the 2022 US Open, detected after in-competition urine tests.
The second charge was related to Halep’s “irregularities in the biological passport” (ABP).
The independent tribunal, set up by Sport Resolutions, met on 28 and 29 June 2023 in London and heard scientific expert witnesses on behalf of Halep and the ITIA, with the player also giving evidence to the commission. The independent tribunal noted that it had received approximately 8,000 pages of scientific material from the player and ITIA.
On 11 September 2023, the tribunal confirmed that the player had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations under Article 2 of the TADP.
“Following a complex and rigorous hearing process, we welcome the independent tribunal’s decision. The volume of evidence that the tribunal had to consider in both the roxadustat and ABP proceedings was substantial,” said ITIA Executive Director Karen Moorhouse.
“ITIA followed the appropriate procedures as we would any other person – in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code – fulfilling our purpose and responsibility to uphold the principle of fair competition, in the name of sport,” Moorhouse added.
“We understand the significant public interest in these cases, and remain committed to being as transparent as possible, and the full decision will be published in due course,” ITIA’s executive director stressed.
The ITIA is a third party delegated by the International Tennis Federation under the World Anti-Doping Code as an independent body responsible for managing anti-doping testing in professional tennis.
Simona Halep was provisionally suspended from October 2022, a suspension which the tribunal settled from the period of ineligibility. As such, the suspension of the former world number one will be valid from October 7, 2022 to October 6, 2026. Simona Halep can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS).
In an Instagram post, Simona Halep retorted to the decision of being suspended for four years. She announced she would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.