Halep: “There is no proof of my guilt. There was no point in doping, it would have worked against me.”

Simona, former Romanian world number one Halep said she received an unfair punishment for violating anti-doping rules, emphasizing that the drug roxadustat would not have benefited her because it was harmful to her health.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced last week that Halep, 31, would be suspended for four years. The Romanian woman was charged with two separate counts. The first involved a negative drug test result for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. The second charge was related to discrepancies in the athlete’s biological passport indicators. Halep had thyroid problems. A European Medicines Agency study found decreased thyroid function in people taking this drug, which is not approved for use in the United States.

“After the hearing, I felt confident in myself because there were so many things that didn’t make sense. When I received the decision, I was completely shocked. I couldn’t believe I had been suspended for four years. When we discovered the “contamination”, my blood was completely normal. It’s crazy that they made this decision with all of our evidence. They judged me based on pre-written scripts. There is no proof. It’s just crazy.

There was no point in me accepting it. That would work against me. I have to stay healthy. When you are emotionally exhausted, you may suffer physically. “I’m trying to protect myself, so I’m going to continue going to the gym to stay in shape,” Halep said, as quoted by Front Office Sports.

Earlier, the Romanian tennis player announced her intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Halep topped the WTA rankings for 64 weeks. She has won two Grand Slam singles tournaments: the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon. In total, the Romanian has 24 titles in WTA tournaments.