Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep handed 4-year ban for doping

Twice Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been banned for four years for two separate anti-doping rule violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Tuesday, September 12.

The 31-year-old former Wimbledon and French Open champion was provisionally suspended since October 2022 after testing positive for banned blood-booster roxadustat at the US Open last year.

"The first (charge) related to an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the prohibited substance roxadustat at the U.S. Open in 2022, carried out through regular urine testing during competition," the ITIA said in a statement.

Halep has strongly denied knowingly taking the banned substance and said she had evidence to show that small amounts of the anaemia drug entered her system from a licensed supplement that was



contaminated.

"The tribunal accepted Halep's argument that they had taken a contaminated supplement but determined the volume the player ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in the positive sample. "

"The second charge related to irregularities in Halep's Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)," the ITIA added.

It said the ABP charge was also upheld as three independent experts were unanimous that "likely doping" was the explanation for the irregularities in Halep's profile.

Notably, Halep, who was provisionally suspended, had expressed frustration over a delay in the final judgment of her doping case over her alleged use of the banned substance Roxadustat, which enhances endurance by promoting the growth of endogenous erythropoietin (EPO).