Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from skilled tennis for 4 years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency stated Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Romanian had been accused of two doping offenses — failing a drug take a look at in the course of the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, the ITIA stated.
A panel concluded that Halep “had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations.”
Halep had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. The four-year ban will run to Oct. 6, 2026.
Halep reached No. 1 within the WTA rankings in 2017. She received Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time main champion Serena Williams within the ultimate, a 12 months after profitable the French Open.
Halep, who had blamed a contaminated complement, plans to attraction the choice to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court,” Halep stated in a press release.
She stated she additionally will “pursue all legal remedies against the supplement company in question.”
The ITIA’s tribunal heard from Halep and her professional scientific witnesses however concluded that the participant dedicated each offenses.
“The tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that they had taken a contaminated supplement, but determined the volume the player ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of Roxadustat found in the positive sample,” the ITIA stated.
Halep’s organic passport profile had been examined by an professional panel. Such passports present a baseline studying of gear in an athlete’s physique and are thought of a approach to assist chart doping.
The tribunal reported that “likely doping” was the reason for the irregularities in Halep’s profile.