- Patrick Mouratoglou is Simona Halep’s coach
- He says he was shocked to learn of Halep’s temporary ban after a positive doping test
- Halep tested positive for Roxadustat, a banned substance
Patrick Mouratoglou, tennis coach to embattled Simona Halep says he is shocked to learn of Halep’s temporary ban after a positive doping test.
Mouratoglou said the Romanian’s case is peculiar and hasn’t seen such in the last 30 years.
“In almost 30 years of working with hundreds of professional athletes, I have never faced a situation like this,” he says in a statement.
Halep has been temporarily banned from tennis after testing positive for banned substances. A sample was taken during the 2022 US Open, and she tested positive for Roxadustat, International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) says.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List for 2022 lists includes Roxadustat as a prohibited substance. The two-time Grand Slam champion has denied intentionally using the drug. In a statement on her social media accounts, the 31-year-old player said this is hard on her.
Simona Halep with her new coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Photo/Tennis Major
She said that the ITIA pronouncement marks another part of her career: fighting for the truth. Halep said she took the news of her testing positive for banned substances with a lot of shock.
Mouratoglou lauded fans who defended Halep against doping claims stating that she is a woman of value who wouldn’t take banned substances intentionally. Having known her for years, her coach believes she stands by her integrity.
He has now channelled his energy to supporting her as she faces an uphill battle to vindicate herself.
“Since Simona’s positive test last week, I have chosen to stay relatively silent. My priority has been to put my energy into helping her and supporting her in establishing the truth every day.
“Knowing Simona so well, I can assure you that she is a model of integrity. She is totally against any form of doping, and I know it has never crossed her mind to take any forbidden substance. I trust her 100%.”
The former world No. 1 said that news that she tested positive for Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity came as the biggest shock of her life.
She added that she has never thought of cheating in her entire tennis career because it goes against her values. Her provisional ban from playing tennis has now left her confused.
Throughout her whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed her mind, she stated. She holds that she was totally for all the values she has grown up with and those that guide her in her tennis career.
Facing such an unfair situation now makes her feel completely confused and betrayed. Thus, she will fight until the end to prove that she did not take any prohibited substance knowingly.
Simona Halep. Photo/Unshared News
She has faith that sooner or later, the truth will come out. The HIF-stabilizing agents drug class, to which Roxadustat belongs, was coined by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
According to USADA, in order to boost the amount of oxygen delivered to working muscles and improve endurance performance, athletes utilise these products to raise their red blood cell count.
In a statement, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said ITIA administers the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP), which offers a detailed procedure. According to the 2022 TADP, Simona is subject to an obligatory provisional suspension.
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