- The 31-year-old Romanian player said that an independent tribunal to hear her case is far from coming
- ITIA suspended her provisionally in 2022 after testing positive to banned substances
- She says that ITF declined to lift her ban even after 10 more tests
Simona Halep who is currently out of the WTA 2023 season over doping has pleaded her case with International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to give her a chance to clear her name.
ITIA suspended her provisionally in 2022 after testing positive for banned substances. She tested positive for Roxadustat during the 2022 US Open.
Roxadustat falls under the prohibited substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List for 2022.
Halep, a two-time Grand Slam winner disputed the findings citing she was not aware that she was taking such banned substances.
She said that she may have taken these substances in her supplements unknowingly. In response, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) distanced itself on the case telling Halep that ITIA was an independent body formed to safeguard the integrity of the sport.
This left Halep who was then recovering from a nose plastic surgery in agony as she serves a provisional ban in tennis. More than six months down the line, her future in tennis seems doomed and all she wants now is for ITIA to give her a chance to prove her innocence.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep. Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
WHAT IS ROXADUSTAT THAT SIMONA HALEP USED FOR DOPING?
Roxadustat triggers the release of red blood cells and is mostly used on patients battling kidney diseases and develop anaemia. It helps in masking the pain of injections. The drug functions by mimicking the body’s natural response to low blood oxygen levels, which involves inhibiting an enzyme that reduces the generation of new red blood cells and boosts iron absorption.
Studies suggest that the medication is equally efficient at increasing oxygen levels and reducing symptoms. Further, Daily Mail Sport cites that until recently, the only effective treatment for anaemic patients with Kidney diseases injections and twice-yearly hospital iron infusions.
But with the tablet which is what Halep may have consumed, the effects of the drugs are similar to the injection.
WHAT IS SIMONA HALEP FRUSTRATED ABOUT IN HER DOPING CASE?
The 31-year-old Romanian player said that an independent tribunal to hear her case is far from coming and this is unjustifiably unfair for her.
“I’ve been provisionally suspended for 8 months even though I’ve sent all the evidence regarding my contamination to the ITF last December. I don’t ask for any special treatment, but to be able to get judged by the Tribunal. I feel it is unfair. How long is it going to last,” she said in a tweet following an interview with Tennis Majors.
Halep further adds that she couldn’t talk much at the time because she was in shock and emotional following the results. She resorted to silence for months trying to come to terms with it all.
She now feels that time has come for her to speak out to her fans and the public in her pursuit of what’s turning out to be elusive justice.
“Actually, I couldn’t handle it very well. But now I feel the need to speak out loud to my supporters, my fans, and to the public because I am sure they really want to know why it’s taking so long and I really felt the need to do that,” she adds.
Simona Halep. Photo/Unshared News
HAS SIMONA HALEP DEFENDED HERSELF TO ITF?
Halep claims that she provided evidence of the contamination to the ITF in December with the expectation that her case would be reviewed by an impartial tribunal in February. However, she claims that the February hearing date was postponed, and a new date in March was similarly pushed back.
She says that her subsequent request to ITF to allow her play was also rejected leaving her feeling dejected. The Romanian notes that since her positive doping test, she has undergone 10 more tests, all of which returned negative. She now anticipates having a hearing in May, but she worries that it might again be postponed.
‘I’m not asking for special treatment. I just ask to be judged. How much longer is this going to take?” she wonders.
However, ITF maintains its earlier stand that it cannot deal with doping issues because that’s the purview of ITIA working on its behalf and that of ATP and WTA
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