Mouratoglou releases new statement regarding Halep's provisional ban for doping
WTA
Simona Halep's coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, released a new statement after her positive test for a banned substance.
Halep was provisionally suspended from competing on the WTA Tour after her positive test for roxadustat at this year's US Open. Right after her suspension was announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the Romanian player released a personal statement.
She was soon supported by her former coach, Darren Cahill, as well as her ex-husband and many other colleagues from the WTA Tour, such as Alize Cornet or Sorana Cirstea.
However, Halep's current coach, Mouratoglou, reacted only with an Instagram story and never released a longer statement in which he would share his point of view.
The French coach was slammed by many fans because of that. They felt like he was not supportive of his player, and a few days after the announcement of a positive test, Mouratoglou released a longer statement.
"First, I want to express how much of a shock our team has been in since Simona informed me about the positive doping test from the US Open. In almost 30 years of working with hundreds of professional athletes, I have never faced a situation like this."
"I appreciate that many people from the tennis world who have closely worked with Simona or have known her personally for many years have spoken up. I want to thank those people for expressing loudly in such an important moment that Simona is a woman of value. Their words of certitude coney a strong message that I stand by."
Mouratoglou explained that he has chosen to stay silent because he wanted to help Halep, who will now have to prove her innocence.
"Since Simona's positive test last week, I have chosen to stay relatively silent. My priority has been to put my energy into helping her and supporting her in establishing the truth every day."
"Knowing Simona so well, I can assure that she is a model of integrity. She is totally against any form of doping, and I know it has never crossed her mind to take any forbidden substance. I trust her 100%. Together, we will fight to prove the truth."
