Tennis player Simona Halep, who has won the Grand Slam twice, has been suspended for four years due to multiple violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
An independent tribunal has found that the 31-year-old Romanian had intentionally violated anti-doping rules.
Halep had tested positive for the use of Roxadustat during the US Open last year.
In addition, she was found guilty of using an unspecified prohibited substance or method in 2022 after irregularities were discovered in her biological passport.
READ ALSO: https://thecrux.org.ng/rubiales-set-to-appear-before-madrid-high-court/
The tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that she had consumed a contaminated supplement.
However, the panel determined that the concentration of Roxadustat found in her urine sample could not have been as a result of taking a contaminated supplement.
The panel also stated that they had no reason to doubt the unanimous “strong opinion” reached by three independent experts that “likely doping” was the reason for the irregularities in her biological passport.
Halep has been provisionally suspended since last October, which means that she will not be able to play again until 7 October 2026, by which time she will be 35 years old.
It is important to note that the findings of the tribunal can be appealed against.
