‘Devastated’ tennis star Simona Halep says doping hearing postponed again

Tennis star Simona Halep has taken to social media to vent her frustration after the latest blow in her bid to overturn a doping ban.

Simona Halep has been charged with a second breach of anti-doping rules.

Former world number one Simona Halep says her doping hearing, scheduled for this weekend, has been postponed for a third time by the International Tennis Federation.

The Romanian was provisionally suspended last October after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat and was charged with a separate second anti-doping breach last week “relating to irregularities in her athlete biological passport”.

Halep previously complained that the ITF cancelled hearings set for February and March.

“Once again, tonight, I am devastated,” she said in a post on social media.

“The ITF (ITIA) (International Tennis Integrity Agency) has once again, for the third time postponed my hearing one month later...

“I have asked, as the rules of anti-doping state it, for a quick hearing: this is my right, it is written in the rules.”

pic.twitter.com/mAE528Tndq

— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) May 24, 2023

Simona Halep says her doping hearing has been postponed for a third time. Picture: Getty Images

The 31-year-old has claimed that experts found she had accidentally taken a contaminated supplement.

Halep had climbed back into the world’s top 10 before she was suspended having dropped out of the top 20 in 2020 following injury problems.

But the two-time Grand Slam champion is set to tumble further from her current mark of 34th as she waits to find out when she can return.

“Not only they are killing my reputation, but also me as a professional player, and I don’t even talk about the consequences on my mental health,” Halep added.

“This disrespect of the rules by the ITF regarding the fast hearing I am entitled to have, is so disrespectful to me that I have no more words...

“‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’”

No comment could be immediately obtained from the ITIA, which acts on behalf of the ITF.

Roxadustat is a drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells and is used in the treatment of patients with kidney problems

‘WORST NIGHTMARE’: HALEP HITS OUT AMID DOPING DRAMA

Former world number one Simona Halep has been charged with a second breach of anti-doping rules, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed.

Romanian Halep has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 for testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat, which stimulates the production of red blood cells, at the US Open in August last year.

Overnight, the ITIA said the two-time Grand Slam winner has been further charged “relating to irregularities in her athlete biological passport”.

The athlete biological passport program monitors biological data over time to identify potential doping violations.

Halep said on Instagram that she felt “helpless facing such harassment” and denies the charges, suggesting she has been “a victim of a contamination”.

“I have lived the worst nightmare I have ever gone through in my life,” she said.

“Not only has my name been soiled in the worst possible way, but I am facing a constant determination from the ITIA, for a reason that I cannot understand, to prove my guilt while I haven’t ever thought of taking an illicit substance.”

Halep said she hoped to have the chance to prove her innocence at a hearing scheduled for the end of May.

The ITIA said it was continuing discussions with an independent tribunal and Halep’s representatives.

Nicole Sapstead, the ITIA’s senior director for anti-doping, said: “We understand that today’s announcement adds complexity to an already high-profile situation.

“From the outset of this process — and indeed any other at the ITIA — we have remained committed to engaging with Ms Halep in an empathetic, efficient, and timely manner.”

Halep, 31, said after her positive test last October that she would “fight until the end” to clear her name.

“Knowingly, I have not taken any banned substance,” the Romanian star told tennismajors.com in an interview published last month.

“I am a big supporter of clean sports and have always been against doping. I had no clue at the beginning about where this substance came from.”

Halep won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following year. She had climbed back into the world’s top 10 before she was suspended having dropped out of the top 20 in 2020 following injury problems.bur/ea

Originally published as ‘Devastated’ tennis star Simona Halep says doping hearing postponed again