October 21, (THEWILL) – Romanian Simona Halep has tested positive for a prohibited substance, according to the Tennis Integrity Unit and has been placed in temporal suspension.
The substance discovered in her body was roxadustat, which the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has classed as erythropoietin (EPO), a medication that raises blood oxygenation levels.
Halep made use of her legal option to demand a counter-analysis, which was already completed. The 31-year-old is presently rated number nine in the WTA rankings and has previously held the number one spot in the world.
She holds 24 WTA championships. Among them are the WTA Finals in 2014, Wimbledon in 2019, and Roland Garros in 2018. She also won the Mutua Madrid Open, which she also won in 2016 and 2017. Halep participated in the most recent US Open where a sample containing the prohibited substance was taken.
Since the case of Maria Sharapova’s meldonium in 2016, this is the biggest doping shock in women’s tennis. Recently, Halep has started working with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who was a longtime coach of Serena Williams prior to her retirement.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
