Former No. 1 tennis player Simona Halep gets 4-year ban in doping case
The Hindu
Simona Halep suspended 4 years for doping violations; ITIA found she committed intentional anti-doping rule violations and irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Romanian had been accused of two doping offenses — failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, the ITIA said.
A panel concluded that Halep “had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations.”
Halep had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. The four-year ban will run to Oct. 6, 2026.
Halep reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017. She won Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final, a year after winning the French Open.
Halep, who had blamed a contaminated supplement, plans to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“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 said in a statement.
Asian Games champion Avinash Sable opened his season in the 3000m steeple chase with a silver in the Portland Track Festival, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event, in Oregon on Saturday. He clocked 8:21.85s. Asian champion Parul Chaudhary took the bronze in the women’s 3000m steeple chase in a season-best 9:31.38s. Former Asian bronze medallist Sanjivani Jadhav struck gold in the women’s 10,000m in 32:22.77s, a time which was a second off her personal best, while Seema was sixth in 32:55.91s.