Ilie Nastase has stunningly claimed there is bias in favor of Americans, arguing that Simona Halep's case would not have been revealed if she was from the country.
Halep had enjoyed some positive moments this season with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who joined her team during the clay-court season after the Romanian's form had in the previous 12 months.
The 2019 Wimbledon champion reached the semifinal of this year's tournament at SW19 and two other semifinals during the grass-court season to gain some much-needed confidence.
Halep then won the Canadian Open for the third time and first in Toronto. That was followed by a surprising defeat to the world No. 134 Daria Snigur, but she remained optimistic about the future.
However, tennis fans worldwide were left shocked when Halep's positive test for the banned substance roxadustat at this year's US Open became public, meaning she is provisionally suspended.
It is a very worrying situation for Halep. The 31-year-old's passionate Romanian fans will desperately hope a suitable explanation can clear her name and stop her from being given a lengthy ban.
Former French Open champion Nastase told Playsport.ro that he does not know the details of the case but is convinced that Halep's case would never have been revealed if she had been an American.
"I can’t tell you anything because I don’t know the details. Only Simona can answer! On the other hand, if Simona Halep was American, nothing is published. Nothing at all."
“I know from sources close to world tennis the cases of two athletes about whom nothing was ever written on this topic, although they would have been in similar situations. If their names had been in the press, the tennis sponsor or sponsors would have gone home the next day!”
There might be bias from some American media sources to American athletes, but to say that runs through the entire system to prevent doping and the media worldwide is an extraordinary claim.