Simona Halep suspended for four years

Simona Halep has been suspended for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for breaches of tennis’s anti-doping programme.

The 31-year-old had been charged with two separate breaches, the first for roxadustat at the US Open in 2022, and the second for irregularities in her athlete biological passport.

An independent tribunal has confirmed that they have judged her to have committed intentional anti-doping rule violations. Although they have accepted her argument that she had taken a contaminated supplement, they have also said that this could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in the sample.

They also said they did not question the “strong opinion” reached by three athlete passport management unit experts that “likely doping” was the reason for the irregularities in her athlete biological passport. Fifty-one blood samples were tested, with the tribunal concluding that they showed “use of a prohibited substance or method during 2022”.

Halep has been provisionally suspended since October 2022, and as such her suspension will run until 6 October, 2026.

The case remains subject to appeal.

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