New York, Oct 22 (IANS): The tennis world was left shocked at the start of the weekend when Former World No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep of Romania announced that she has tested positive for a prohibited substance and was provisionally suspended.
Halep, who won the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon women's singles titles, tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in extremely low quantity in a sample provided at the U.S Open 2022.
"Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for the truth. I have been notified that I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity, which came as the biggest shock of my life," Halep informed in a statement on her social media handles.
"Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed," the 31-year-old Romanian star said in the statement.
Halep professed her innocence and pledged to "fight until the end" to prove that she has not taken the substance knowingly.
"I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and I have faith that sooner or later, the truth will come out," she said.
"It's not about the titles or the money. It's about honour, and the love story I have developed with the game of tennis over the last 25 years," she added.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the delegated third party, under the World Anti-Doping Code of the International Tennis Federation that is responsible for the management and administration of anti-doping across professional tennis, has confirmed that her 'B' Sample too has tested positive for the same prohibited substance.
"The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed that Simona Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian tennis player, has been provisionally suspended under Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP)," the ITIA informed in a release on its website.
The rule governs the use of a prohibited substance without a valid TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption).
"Halep, who has a WTA ranking of 9, provided a sample whilst competing at the US Open in August 2022...the subsequent analysis found that the A sample contained FG-4592 (Roxadustat), which is a prohibited substance listed in the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Adverse Analytical Findings for non-specified substances carry a mandatory provisional suspension," the ITIA said.
Halep exercised her "right to request that the B sample was analysed, which confirmed the finding in the A sample", the ITIA said.
It informed that while provisionally suspended, the player is ineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned tennis events organised by the governing bodies of the sport.