Fellow tennis professional John Millman took to social media to come to the defence of Simona Halep after yet another delay to the final judgement of her doping case.
The last twelve months in the life of Simona Halep has been nothing short of turbulent and chaotic. The former World No.1 was provisionally suspended in October 2022 for testing positive for Roxadustat, a banned substance often used for greater endurance.
In addition to this, there was added controversy when a second charge was handed to Halep for irregularities to her blood passport in May.
As a result, Halep has not played a professional tennis match since that moment and she has been very outspoken about the drawn-out process as she still awaits the final verdict on her case. The plot thickened even further, after Halep had been told that the official hearing would go ahead in August at the latest.
But the International Tennis Integrity Agency, who are the independent body established by international bodies to promote and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis, decided to delay that verdict even further.
Halep took to social media to share her continued disappointment and discussed the challenges this debacle is having on her from a mental and emotional standpoint.
These latest developments has led to Halep's former coach Darren Cahill coming to her defence, but also fellow tennis player John Millman shared his viewpoint on the matter. He feels that both the World Tennis Association and other players should be doing more to support Halep in a public setting. The Australian has remained outspoken throughout the whole process of Halep's doping case in question.
"The ITIA delays in regards to Simona Halep’s case is a disgrace. One way or the other she shouldn’t be constantly mucked around like this. I’m a little surprised more on the WTA, admin and players, haven’t come out condemning the process. It’s been a joke."
"Simona is in tennis purgatory due to constant delays in proceedings from the ITIA. Her colleagues should have her back and broadcast it in the public forum. Allowing her a proper and fair hearing. If you walked in her shoes you’d at least want that. Regardless of the findings."
Halep, who is now situated outside the World's Top-1000 in the rankings, recognises this is a long road back to the higher echelons of the game, and it certainly feels like the process has a long way still to travel just yet.
0 Comments