"It's impossible to understand such a situation... Why is there such a big difference in treatment and assessment? I can't find a reason, and there is probably no logical answer. It can only be the bad faith of the ITIA, an organization that, despite clear evidence, did absolutely everything to destroy me," the 33-year-old former world No. 1 wrote on social media.
Halep was suspended from October 2022 to March 2024 after testing positive for roxadustat during the 2022 US Open. The substance, used to treat anemia, is banned in sports and has been linked to doping cases among cyclists and long-distance runners. Halep consistently denied intentional wrongdoing, attributing the positive test to contaminated supplements.
In March, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne reduced her suspension from four years to nine months, acknowledging contamination as the cause. Halep returned to competition this spring but has struggled to regain form, winning only one of five matches this year and dropping to 876th in the WTA rankings.
Halep compared her situation to that of Iga Świątek, who received a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in August. The ITIA investigation concluded that Świątek's positive result was due to contaminated over-the-counter melatonin produced in Poland, which she used for jet lag and sleep issues. The agency found no intentional violation and largely exonerated the Polish player.
"How is it possible that in identical cases, happening around the same time, the ITIA has a completely different approach to my case? I lost two years of my career," Halep stated. "I feel disappointed, angry, and frustrated."
(jh)
Source: PAP