Two-times main winner Simona Halep of Romania has been provisionally suspended after testing optimistic for the banned blood-booster roxadustat, the Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company (ITIA) stated on Friday.
Halep, ranked ninth on the earth, was examined through the U.S. Open and each her A and B samples confirmed the presence of roxadustat, an anti-anaemia drug that stimulates the manufacturing of crimson blood cells very like the prohibited substance Erythropoietin (EPO).
“Simona Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian tennis participant, has been provisionally suspended below Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP),” the physique stated in a press release.
“The pattern was break up into A and B samples and the next evaluation discovered that the A pattern contained FG-4592 (Roxadustat), which is a prohibited substance listed within the 2022 World Anti-Doping Company (WADA) Prohibited Checklist.”
The 2019 Wimbledon champion later requested for her B pattern to be analysed, which confirmed the preliminary findings.
Former world primary Halep described the ban because the “largest shock of her life” and denied knowingly taking any banned substance.
“At this time begins the toughest match of my life: a struggle for the reality. I’ve been notified that I’ve examined optimistic for a substance known as Roxadustat in a particularly low amount, she wrote on Twitter.
“All through my complete profession, the concept of dishonest by no means even crossed my thoughts as soon as, as it’s completely in opposition to all of the values I’ve been educated with. Dealing with such an unfair scenario, I really feel fully confused and betrayed.”
Halep, who additionally gained at Roland Garros in 2018, added that her struggle was not about “titles or cash” however her honour and she or he hoped that the reality would ultimately come out.
Maria Sharapova was the final high-profile tennis participant to be concerned in a doping scandal after the Russian examined optimistic for meldonium on the 2016 Australian Open and was initially banned for 2 years earlier than it was decreased to fifteen months.
Halep’s suspension signifies that she can’t compete in or attend any sanctioned occasions organised by the governing our bodies of the tennis.
Halep, the winner of two titles this season, ended her season early after present process nostril surgical procedure final month to deal with respiratory difficulties.