Former world no. 1 Simona Halep suspended after testing positive for a banned substance
WTA
Simona Halep was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after a positive doping test.
In recent months, Halep has enjoyed some of the better months of her tennis career after she won the 2022 Canadian Open in Toronto. In the final, she beat Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
However, soon after that, Halep's career took an unexpected turn. She lost in the first round of the 2022 US Open to Daria Snigur, but that wasn't the only shock she experienced in New York.
Halep was tested for doping at the US Open, and unfortunately for the former WTA World No. 1 player, the sample she provided returned a positive result for roxadustat, which is a prohibited substance.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced Halep's positive test and subsequent provisional suspension in a statement on Friday, October 21st, 2022.
"The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed that Simona Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian tennis player, has been provisionally suspended under Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP)."
"Halep, who has a WTA ranking of 9, provided a sample whilst competing at the US Open in August 2022. The sample was split into A and B samples and the subsequent analysis found that the A sample contained FG-4592 (Roxadustat), which is a prohibited substance listed in the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Adverse Analytical Findings for non-specified substances carry a mandatory provisional suspension."
Halep requested the B sample to be analyzed as well, but it also showed a positive test. That means that the Romanian player will now be unable to compete in any tennis tournaments until she proves how the substance got into her body.
In her career, Halep rose to the No. 1 spot in October 2017 and lifted two Grand Slam trophies when she triumphed at the Roland Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019.
