Six months after getting a provisional doping suspension due to an extremely low quantity of roxadustat detected in her body, Simona Halep is still awaiting a hearing by an independent court and wasting precious time away from competition. In an exclusive interview with Tennis Majors, the former world No.1 opens up about her feelings during what sure is the toughest period of her life and criticizes the sport’s anti-doping bodies for their lack of proactivity.
All Halep is asking for is a fair and timely trial, but months go by and her hearing is constantly being postponed. Now it’s even certain that she’ll miss the French Open, as the latest information is that her hearing will be at the end of May. The worst thing is that this date is also very uncertain, as the ITF said that they might cancel it as well.
“Everything takes so long,” the 31-year-old WTA player said. “I asked the ITF to lift my sanction to be able to play but they also refused it.”
Since there is no end to this agony, Halep decided to break her silence and give us insight into the process for the first time since finding out that her urine sample from the 2022 US Open was contaminated. Even though she submitted evidence that should prove her innocence back in December, the resolution of this…
