Former world No. 1 Simona Halep has been given a four-year suspension from tennis for two doping offenses, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Romanian has been provisionally suspended since October last year after testing positive for the blood-boosting substance Roxadustat at last year’s US Open.
In May, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion was charged with a second anti-doping breach relating to irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).
Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA Today
Both charges have been upheld by an independent tribunal.
Halep would not be able to play professional tennis again until Oct. 6, 2026.
However, soon after the ITIA statement was released, Halep said she would appeal the decision.
“Today [Tuesday], a tribunal under the tennis anti-doping program announced a tentative decision in my case. The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues,” she said.
“I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance,” Halep said. “I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban. I intend to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
An independent tribunal, which heard evidence from Halep, met in London on June 28 and 29.
On Monday, the tribunal — which also heard evidence from scientific experts and sifted through about 8,000 pages of evidence — said it had found Halep had committed intentional violations under tennis’s anti-doping program.
One of these was the use of Roxadustat discovered in her urine sample at last year’s US Open, with the other breach based on collection and analysis of 51 blood samples provided by Halep as part of the ABP program.
Halep has said experts found she had accidentally taken a contaminated supplement, which can be used legitimately to treat anemia.
However, the ITIA on Tuesday said that while the tribunal accepted Halep had taken a contaminated supplement, they also “determined the volume the player ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of Roxadustat found in the positive sample.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS