Halep handed provisional suspension for testing positive at US Open

IMAGE: Simona Halep described the ban because the “greatest shock of her life”. {Photograph}: Dan Istitene/Getty Pictures

Two-times main winner Simona Halep of Romania has been provisionally suspended after testing optimistic for the banned substance roxadustat, the Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company (ITIA) mentioned on Friday.

Halep, ranked ninth on this planet, was examined throughout the US Open and each her A and B samples confirmed the presence of the drug.

“Simona Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian tennis participant, has been provisionally suspended below Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP),” the physique mentioned in a press release.

“The pattern was cut up into A and B samples and the next evaluation discovered that the A pattern contained FG-4592 (Roxadustat), which is a prohibited substance listed within the 2022 World Anti-Doping Company (WADA) Prohibited Record.”

Halep described the ban because the “greatest shock of her life”.

“All through my complete profession, the thought of dishonest by no means even crossed my thoughts as soon as, as it’s completely in opposition to all of the values I’ve been educated with. Going through such an unfair state of affairs, I really feel utterly confused and betrayed,” she wrote on Twitter.