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Twice Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been banned till October 2026 for 2 separate anti-doping rule violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) mentioned on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Romanian former Wimbledon and French Open champion has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 after testing constructive for banned blood-booster roxadustat on the US Open final yr.
“The first (charge) related to an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the prohibited substance roxadustat at the US Open in 2022, carried out through regular urine testing during competition,” the ITIA mentioned in a press release.
Halep has strongly denied knowingly taking the banned substance and mentioned she had proof to indicate that small quantities of the anaemia drug entered her system from a licensed complement that was contaminated.
“The tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that they had taken a contaminated supplement, but determined the volume the player ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in the positive sample.”
“The second charge related to irregularities in Halep’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP),” the ITIA added.
It mentioned the ABP cost was additionally upheld as three impartial consultants have been unanimous that “likely doping” was the reason for the irregularities in Halep’s profile.
Halep mentioned on Tuesday that she would enchantment to sport’s highest court docket towards the ITIA’s resolution to ban her.
“I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court,” Halep mentioned in a press release to Reuters.
“I intend to appeal this decision to The Court of Arbitration for Sport and pursue all legal remedies against the supplement company in question,” she added.
