Simona Halep was spotted training at the Stejarii Complex in Romania. The complex is owned by Ion Tiriac, the former famous Romanian tennis player.
Simona Halep today at Stejarii.
Source: angelinapavel2009tennis on IG pic.twitter.com/DcLHPjb3Db — Romanian Tennis (@WTARomania) November 23, 2022
The International Tennis Integrity Agency has provisionally suspended two-time Major champion Simona Halep.
During the US Open, the 31-year-old supplied a sample that contained the forbidden drug Roxadustat. Simona was defeated by Daria Snigur in the first round of the New York Open before undergoing minor surgery and missing the rest of the season.
The Romanian has asserted her innocence, and her legal proceedings began. Simona has been plagued by injuries in recent years, losing her position at the top and making tremendous improvement in 2022.
Halep’s reaction on the doping ban
The news of Simona Halep’s positive dope test for the Slam champion and one of the greatest tennis players of recent years absolutely stunned the sport globe.
This was announced by the tennis player herself, who made the following statements: “Today begins the hardest game of my life: the battle for truth. I have been informed that I have tested positive for taking a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low amount.
It’s the biggest shock of my life. Throughout my career, the idea of cheating has never crossed my mind even once, because it totally goes against all the values I was brought up through. Faced with such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed.
I will fight to the end to prove that I have never knowingly taken any prohibited substance and I have the hope that sooner or later the truth will come out.” WTA CEO Steve Simon said he spoke to Simona Halep. “I believe she didn’t do something intentionally.
That said, I strongly believe in our anti-doping program, and I think it’s good, and our players support it too. And if you ask Simona, she supports it. I am very confident that as we move forward in the process, the truth will come out and we will address it accordingly. But I have a lot of sympathy for Simona, because I would never question her integrity,” said Simon.
