Tennis-Halep says truth will come out after doping ban appeal

tennis-halep says truth will come out after doping ban appeal

FILE PHOTO: Tennis player Simona Halep of Romania speaks to the media, after a hearing for a doping case against her, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland February 9, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Former Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep was confident she would soon return to tennis after exiting sport’s top court on Friday after three days of proceedings to appeal a doping suspension that could end her career.

“I had the chance to show my defence and I really believe that the truth is going to come out and the day to be on court is going to be soon,” Halep told reporters outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

The 32-year-old Romanian has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat, a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells, at the U.S. Open that year.

Tennis anti-doping authorities also charged the former world number one, with another doping offence last year due to irregularities in her athlete biological passport (ABP), a method designed to monitor different blood parameters.

Howard Jacobs, Halep’s lawyer, said CAS had heard her arguments but it was unclear when the court might issue its ruling.

Halep has blamed contaminated licensed supplements for her positive test at the U.S. Open. She has accused the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of charging her with an ABP violation after the group of experts who assessed her profile learned her identity.

An independent tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that she had taken a contaminated supplement but determined the volume she ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in her positive sample.

Halep has said that if her four-year ban is maintained, it would most likely end her career.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Cécile Mantovani; Editing by Toby Davis)

News Related

OTHER NEWS

FA confident that Man Utd starlet will pick England over Ghana

Kobbie Mainoo made his first start for Man Utd at Everton (Photo: Getty) The Football Association are reportedly confident that Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo will choose to represent England ... Read more »

World Darts Championship draw throws up tricky tests for big names

Michael Smith will begin the defence of his world title on the opening night (Picture: Getty Images) The 2024 World Darts Championship is less than three weeks away and the ... Read more »

Pioneering flight to use repurposed cooking oil to cross Atlantic

For the first time a long haul commercial aircraft is flying across the Atlantic using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). A long haul commercial flight is flying to the US ... Read more »

King meets world business and finance figures at Buckingham Palace

The King has met business and finance leaders from across the world at a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the conclusion of the UK’s Global Investment Summit. Charles was introduced ... Read more »

What Lou Holtz thinks of Ohio State's loss to Michigan: 'They aren't real happy'

After Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan Saturday, many college football fans were wondering where Lou Holtz was. In his postgame interview after the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 17-14 in ... Read more »

Darius Slay wouldn't have minded being penalized on controversial no-call

Darius Slay wouldn’t have minded being penalized on controversial no-call No matter which team you were rooting for on Sunday, we can all agree that the officiating job performed by ... Read more »

Mac Jones discusses Patriots future after latest benching

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) Quarterback Mac Jones remains committed to finding success with the New England Patriots even though his future is up in the air following ... Read more »
Top List in the World