The
International
Tennis
Integrity
Agency
announced
on
Friday
the
31-year-old
had
tested
positive
for
roxadustat,
a
prohibited
substance,
after
providing
two
samples
while
competing
at
the
US
Open
in
August.
She
was
notified
of
a
rule
violation
on
October
7
and
now
faces
a
fight
to
avoid
a
ban
from
the
sport.
In
a
statement,
the
ITIA
said:
“While
provisionally
suspended,
the
player
is
ineligible
to
compete
in
or
attend
any
sanctioned
tennis
event
organised
by
the
governing
bodies
of
the
sport.”
Swiftly
responding,
former
French
Open
and
Wimbledon
champion
Halep
denied
all
knowledge
of
taking
the
substance
and
said
the
sanction
was
the
“biggest
shock”
of
her
life.
“Today
begins
the
hardest
match
of
my
life:
a
fight
for
the
truth,”
she
posted
on
social
media.
—
Simona
Halep
(@Simona_Halep)
October
21,
2022
“I
have
been
notified
that
I
tested
positive
for
a
substance
called
roxadustat
in
an
extremely
low
quantity,
which
came
as
the
biggest
shock
of
my
life.
“Throughout
my
whole
career,
the
idea
of
cheating
never
even
crossed
my
mind
once,
as
it
is
totally
against
all
the
values
I
have
been
educated
with.
Facing
such
an
unfair
situation,
I
feel
completely
confused
and
betrayed.
“I
will
fight
until
the
end
to
prove
that
I
never
knowingly
took
any
prohibited
substance
and
I
have
faith
that
sooner
or
later,
the
truth
will
come
out.
“It’s
not
about
the
titles
or
the
money.
It’s
about
honour,
and
the
love
story
I
have
developed
with
the
game
of
tennis
over
the
last
25
years.”
The
31-year-old
former
world
number
one
announced
in
September
she
would
miss
the
rest
of
the
season
after
undergoing
nose
surgery,
with
it
unclear
how
long
her
recovery
would
take.
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