Former world No 1, Simon Halep suspended for doping

Former world number one in tennis, Simona Halep has been provisionally suspended for doping after testing positive for a banned substance by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

The agency disclosed this today in a statement stating that Halep’s sample, taken during the US Open, showed traces of Roxadustat, a drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells and is used in the treatment of patients with kidney problems.

Simona Halep
Christian Mesiano, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The statement read “The subsequent analysis found that the A sample contained FG-4592 (Roxadustat), which is a prohibited substance listed in the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Adverse Analytical Findings for non-specified substances carry a mandatory provisional suspension. The player exercised their right to request that the B sample was analyzed, which confirmed the finding in the A sample. While provisionally suspended, the player is ineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned tennis events organized by the governing bodies of the sport,”.

Dolupo Balogun

Written by BoomRadioNG