Former No. 1 Simona Halep suspended for positive doping test at US Open

Simona Halep, Former world No. 1, has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for a banned substance at this year’s U.S. Open.

Halep, according to a Friday statement from the ITIA, provided a sample that contained Roxadustat. The substance is listed in the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list.

Halep addressed the suspension Friday with her own statement.

“Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for truth,” she wrote. “I have been



notified that I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity.”

Roxadustat is a European Union medically approved drug used to treat the anemia symptoms caused by kidney failure. According to the EU's medicines agency, it stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, which can increase red blood cell count — and, in turn, generate more stamina.

The 31-year-old called the news “the biggest shock of [her] life,” adding that she never once considered cheating because of her values.