Simona Halep has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 after it was announced that she had tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat. In this interview with Tennis Majors, the two-time major champion and former world No 1 says she has evidence to prove her innocence but that she has so far been denied her right to be heard by an independent court. She hopes her hearing will take place at the end of May.
Editor’s note on the authorities mentioned by Simona Halep during the interview : Halep identified the ITF (International Tennis Federation) as the authority in charge of her case, instead of the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency), a new entity created in 2022 by the professional tennis governing bodies (ITF included), now in charge of the tennis antidoping program, in the place of the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), a panel once created by the ITF. Tennis Majors tried to reach both the ITF and the ITIA before the release of this article, but only received a proper response after the release. Then, a spokesperson for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), said: “The process is ongoing and is being run in line with the World Anti-Doping Code.” The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said it was not in a position to comment and insisted on the fact that the ITIA was in charge. Asked after the release of the article why Halep referred to the ITF, her lawyer Howard Jacobs responded : “There is no discernible difference in the way anti-doping cases are handled since ITIA “took over” from ITF – the same lawyers prosecute the cases, all documents are submitted through the same exact online Portal, it is the exact same pool of arbitrators, and the arbitrations are administered by the same exact agency – Sport Resolutions – which still as of today states on its website that tennis anti-doping cases are decided by “the ITF Independent Tribunal”.”
The full interview on tennismajors.com
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