Simona Halep, a former world No 1 and winner of two grand slam titles, has been provisionally suspended from tennis after failing a drugs test at the US Open.
Halep, who was stunned by the Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur in the opening round at Flushing Meadows, tested positive for Roxadustat, an oral medication used to treat anaemia, according to a statement published by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
Roxadustat, which is typically given to people suffering from chronic kidney disease, increases levels of haemoglobin, the red substance in blood that combines with oxygen and carries it around the body. More haemoglobin means more oxygen, and therefore better athletic performance.
In a statement issued on social media, Halep, described the result as “the biggest shock of my life”. The Romanian, who noted that the prohibited substance had been detected “in an extremely low quantity”, said she would battle to prove her innocence.
“Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for the truth,” Halep, currently ranked ninth, wrote on Twitter.
“Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed.
“I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and I have faith that sooner or later, the truth will come out.
“It’s not about the titles or the money. It’s about honour, and the love story I have developed with the game of tennis over the last 25 years.”
Halep, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following summer, announced after the US Open that she would not compete again this season after undergoing surgery on her nose to correct a breathing problem.
A semi-finalist at the All England Club this year, the 31-year-old returned to the top 10 in August after losing her place among the game’s elite for the first time in more than seven years the previous summer, when a calf injury forced her to miss Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.
Halep has attributed her improved form to her partnership with Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams, with whom she began working in April. However, Mouratoglou recently announced that he would be coaching the Danish teenager Holger Rune pending Halep’s return from her nose operation, stating that the Romanian had “encouraged me to seek a new collaboration”.
Halep, who has won titles in Melbourne and Toronto this year, will not be able to compete again until her case is heard.
“The sample was split into A and B samples and 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,” said the ITIA statement.
“The player exercised their right to request that the B sample was analysed, which confirmed the finding in the A sample. While provisionally suspended, the player is ineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned tennis events organised by the governing bodies of the sport.”
Halep is the most high-profile female player to fail a drugs test since Maria Sharapova was banned for taking meldonium, a drug used to treat cardiac issues, in 2016.
Sharapova was initially banned from the sport for two years before the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that she had not intentionally violated the rules, reducing her sentence to 15 months.