Simona Halep says she has cut ties with tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou and his academy in the wake of her four-year doping ban.
The former world No.1 is set to appeal against her ban during a three-day hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after an independent tribunal determined that the Romanian had committed intentional anti-doping violations. In a 126-page report by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), investigators accepted that a collagen supplement taken by Halep – called Keto MCT – was contaminated with the banned substance Roxadustat “on the balance of probability.” However, they stated that there must have been another source of Roxadustat based on the level detected in her sample taken during the 2022 US Open.
Furthermore, three experts in the area said they have ‘a high degree of confidence‘ that there was not an ‘innocent explanation’ for the abnormalities detected in Halep’s Athlete’s Biological Passport (ABP). They reported that ‘likely doping’ occurred based on an analysis of 51 valid samples of Halep’s blood and rejected her explanation for the irregularity. The tennis star cited blood loss during surgery and spells when she was inactive as her defence.
Halep has always maintained her innocence throughout and insists that she would never deliberately take banned substances. Now in a new interview with Romania’s Euronews, she has taken a swipe at former coach Mouratoglou who was the person who recommended that she take the contaminated supplement. Mouratoglou, who has also worked with the likes of Serena Williams and Holger Rune, said he feels responsible for the incident but had no idea that the supplement contained traces of Roxadustat.
“Indeed, it came out publicly (Mouratoglou’s comment on the matter). I wish he had done this a little sooner,” the Romania Journal quoted Halep as telling Euronews.
“It was hard for me because I always trusted my teams, previous teams and everyone I work with. I always had confidence, and my confidence is now a little shaken.” She added.
Halep’s future in the sport now depends on the CAS who is scheduled to hold her hearing between February 7-9, 2024. If she is unsuccessful in her bid to overturn her ban, the two-time Grand Slam champion admits that there is a strong chance she will retire from tennis.
“More than a year has already passed, and every day I felt it very painfully, full of emotions.” She said.
“It was a shock to me when I received the letter that my urine test, only my urine test, was positive. I know I haven’t done anything wrong and I know I’m clean. I have always been against doping.’
“Four years is a long time at my age. If it’s four years, I don’t know how I’ll manage. It will probably be the end of my career. Yes. And for something I didn’t do and isn’t my fault, it’s even more catastrophic.”
Halep, who is 32, has won 24 WTA titles during her career and has been runner-up at 18 other tournaments. She has also earned more than $40M in prize money and recorded over 550 Tour-level victories.
