Former world number 1 Simona Halep, suspended since last October after testing positive for roxadustat, a banned substance, explained Thursday in an interview with Tennis Majors having been the victim of “contamination of one of its food supplements”.
Experts, commissioned by the 31-year-old player, “established that these traces were the result of contamination, contamination of one of my food supplements, which explains the very small quantity which was detected in my body” , Halep said.
The former Romanian world number 1, winner of Roland-Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, tested positive in August 2022 in New York for roxadustat, a prohibited substance classified as an EPO in the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA).
A few months later, she was suspended by the Tennis Anti-Doping Organization (ITIA) and faces up to four years of suspension.
“I have never voluntarily consumed any prohibited product”, she answered the question of whether she had taken roxadustat, a molecule which stimulates the production of red blood cells and is generally used in the treatment of anemia related to kidney disease.
Halep is the first leading player caught in the anti-doping nets since the resounding suspension of Maria Sharapova in 2016. Tested positive for meldonium, the Russian star was finally given a fifteen-month suspension.
“I never thought I would find myself embroiled in something like this,” Halep continued Thursday, saying she felt “good” because “I know I’m clean.”
Regarding the expertise carried out, the Romanian adds that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has rejected her evidence. She thus asked “to be heard by an independent court”.
But several hearings have reportedly been postponed or canceled by the ITF. A request to have his provisional suspension lifted was also denied.
A new hearing could take place “on May 28”, but Simona Halep expressed her impatience. “I’m not asking for special treatment. I just want to be judged: how much longer do I have to wait? she asked.
During her provisional suspension, the Romanian cannot participate in any tournament. However, she said she still wanted to play, and felt “as strong as before, if not stronger”.