Patrick Mouratoglou's recent comments in which he admitted to being 'responsible' for Simona Halep's doping ban have left the Romanian star's fans irate and perturbed.
In a video shared on his official Instagram handle, Mouratoglou admitted that there was "no way" to know that the collagen he recommended to the former World No. 1 was contaminated with the banned substance called Roxadustat.
Halep was infamously hit with a four-year doping ban in September for two charges related to anti-doping violations by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and that will last until the fall of 2026. She'll be 35 when her suspension ends.
The Romanian star lodged an official appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in late October and has vowed to fight for the truth. Many fans feel that the ban is a potential career breaker for the two-time major champion.
However, the 53-year-old Mouratoglou, who served as Halep's coach during what can now be termed an ill-fated reign, is confident Halep and her legal team will be successful in overturning the ban. But Mouratolgou's comments have not been well received by several fans of Halep on social media.
Having admitted he is to blame in the ordeal, one fan wrote, "He confessed and admitted it's his fault, I always said him and his academy are the ones to blame. Even if what he said will not help Simo I hope more people will realize what really happened here. He should be banned from coaching and close his academy, he ruined a career."
Former writer of the New York Times Ben Rothenberg stated it was a "big overdue step" by the French coach to make such a stunning revelation, but was not particularly optimistic with the appeal because of the high concentration of Roxadustat.
In a tweet on X, the American journalist says, "This is a big, overdue step from Mouratoglou to take the blame for his role in the Halep positive doping test. Halep still has a challenge at CAS, however, because the amount of Roxadustat she tested positive for was a much higher concentration than found in the supplement."
Despite taking the blame, one fan noted that Mouratoglou did not apologize for his mistake and only owned it months after the ban. The tweet read, "Has always had the unique ability to make an a** out of himself. There's nothing worthy of applause if you accept your mistake MONTHS after Simo got banned. He's still not apologizing for it, to Simo, to her fans, to Romania. He's Arrogant as they come."
Another fan was not sparing any sympathy for the former coach of Serena Williams. In a tweet, the comment read, "Note the careful wording of 'I feel responsible', not "I take responsibility. Meaning he doesn't accept any responsibility at all, he just wants to sound respectable for his tennis empire and assuage himself of any guilt in sharing the blame."
Contrary to Mouratgolou's claim that the contaminated collagen had minute levels of the banned substance, the independent tribunal concluded there was "illicit blood manipulation" as one fan said. "Lmaoo I don’t know why PM is doing this now? Not a good look for his academy, the reports say otherwise. It's actually not low levels of detection."
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