Simona Halep Suspended Four Years for Doping Violations

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been banned for four years for two separate doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) announced Tuesday.

The 31-year-old has been facing a provisional suspension since testing positive for roxadustat during a routine urine check at the 2022 US Open. A second violation came up later when irregularities were found in Halep's Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).

After the announcement, Halep said in a statement that she will appeal the decision, adding that she has "refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban."

"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 said. "I intend to appeal this decision to The Court of Arbitration for Sport and pursue all legal
remedies against the supplement company in question."

The ruling was made by an independent tribunal formed by Sports Resolutions. The tribunal met in late July in London where it heard from experts on behalf of both Halep and the ITIA, as well as a testimonial directly from Halep.

When the drug test initially returned a positive result in August, Halep claimed that the roxadustat entered her body through a contaminated supplement that was legal for her to be taking, calling the result "the biggest shock of my life." The two-time grand slam champion has been vocal about her frustration with the situation.

"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," Halep said in a social media post in Oct. 2022. "Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed."

After an investigation, the tribunal found that the dosage of roxadustat found in Halep's sample was too large to have come from another contaminated substance.

The second violation based on the ABP was also upheld as the tribunal heard from three separate Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) experts that concluded that “likely doping” was the explanation for the irregularities in Halep’s profile.  

“After a complex and rigorous hearing process, we welcome the independent tribunal’s decision." ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said in Tuesday's statement.   

“The volume of evidence for the tribunal to consider in both the roxadustat and ABP proceedings was substantial. The ITIA has followed the proper processes as we would with any other individual — in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code — fulfilling our purpose and responsibility to uphold the principle of fair competition, on behalf of the sport. The panel recognised that appropriate procedure had been followed within the written decision."  

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced a statement in support of the ITIA.

"It is of the utmost importance for players to be aware of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program rules and to follow them," the WTA said. "The Independent Tribunal has made its ruling surrounding Simona’s case and under the TADP, the decision may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The WTA will support the decisions reached through the process and will continue to follow this closely.”

Since her provisional suspension began in Oct. 2022, Halep is already almost about one year into her four-year ban. Assuming her appeal is unsuccessful, Halep won't be eligible to return to competition until Oct. 2026, at which time she will be 35 years old.