Former Romanian world number one Simona Halep criticized the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for its decision against Poland’s Iga Szwiatek for violating anti-doping rules.
The ITIA reported on Thursday that world number two Swiatek tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in August. The Pole proved that the doping entered her body unintentionally, so the disqualification period was one month. Halep was suspended for four years in 2023 for anti-doping rule violations; in March, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the Romanian’s disqualification to nine months.
“I sit and try to understand, but it’s impossible.” Why is there such a big difference in approach and punishment? I don’t find, and I don’t think, there is a logical answer. This can only be malice on the part of ITIA, an organization that did absolutely everything to destroy me, despite all the evidence.
ITIA really wanted to destroy the last years of my career. I have always believed in good and justice in this sport. It hurt. Maybe I will always be hurt by the injustice done to me.
How is it possible that in identical cases occurring around the same time, the ITIA takes completely different approaches? How can I accept that the WTA and the Players Council do not want to give me back the ranking that I deserved? I lost two years of my career. I couldn’t sleep, I had different thoughts, I had unanswered questions. But I got justice. It turned out to be contamination and the biological passport was clean.
I have a clear conscience! “I feel disappointed and hurt, but I don’t feel angry,” Halep wrote on the social network.
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Source : MatchTV
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
