Simona Halep is withdrawn from the US Open due to a doping ban
- Simona Halep, 31, has been provisionally suspended since October 2022
- She tested positive for the banned blood booster roxadustat at the US Open last year
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Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep was dropped from the US Open entry list for the Grand Slam tournament later this month.
The 31-year-old Halep was automatically removed from the list of participants due to her doping ban on Monday – just one week before the start of the tournament.
In the biggest drug controversy in tennis since the Maria Sharapova saga, Halep has been provisionally suspended for nearly a year, extending until October 2022, after she tested positive for the banned blood booster Roxadustat at last year’s US Open.
Halep, a former Wimbledon champion, was beaten by unseeded Daria Snigur of Ukraine in the first round of the tournament in New York City.
However, the former French Open champion has denied knowingly ingesting the substance and claims she has had 10 tests since she tested positive, all of which came back negative.
Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep has been withdrawn from the US Open
During a temporary ban, players are unable to attend or attend sanctioned events.
American Taylor Townsend will replace the Romanian in the main draw for Flushing Meadows.
Halep was indicted for a second time on doping charges in May and has since fallen out of the WTA top 1000.
Halep has firmly denied knowingly ingesting the banned substance, saying she has evidence that small amounts of the anemia drug entered her system via an approved, contaminated dietary supplement.
Halep said she sent evidence of the contamination to the International Tennis Federation in December and hoped her case would be heard by an independent tribunal in February, but that that has been postponed and a new date in March has also been postponed.
In May, Halep was charged with another and separate tennis anti-doping program violation and again asked to be tried by an independent court.
After being hit with a second charge, Halep released an angry statement on social media, accusing the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of “harassment” and “motivating me to prove myself guilty of something I never did.” accused.
“Since October 7, when I was charged with doping by the ITIA, I’ve had the worst nightmare I’ve ever had in my life,” she said.
Halep has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance
“Not only has my name been stained in the worst possible way, but I am constantly being asked by the ITIA to prove my guilt for a reason I cannot understand, even though I have never thought of it, an illegal substance gain weight.”
“I have tried twice to get the opportunity to be judged by an independent court and the ITIA has always found reasons for a postponement.”
“After we clearly established that I was a victim of contamination, they came up with what is called an abnormal development of my blood.” Three world-renowned experts who examined my blood tests concluded that my blood is not entirely normal.
In 2019, Halep secured Wimbledon fame while winning the French Open the year before
“I feel helpless in the face of such harassment and the motivation to prove myself guilty on their behalf for something I never did.” Once again, I have been totally opposed to cheating of any kind my entire life. It doesn’t match my values.
“The only thing I hope at this point is that I will finally have the opportunity to have access to the independent and impartial judges of a tribunal that will give me a chance to prove my innocence.”
“I have full confidence in the judiciary and look forward to finally presenting my case at my hearing scheduled for the end of May after several delays by the ITIA.”
“The support of my loved ones, the tennis world and my fans has given me the courage to continue training and fighting for the truth every day.” I can’t thank you more for that. Love, Simona.