Simona Halep fears loss of doping appeal will end her career

PARIS — Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep fears that an appeal defeat following her four-year ban for doping could lead to the end of her playing career.

A three-day hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport is scheduled for February 7-9 for his appeal against the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which ruled that Halep “committed intentional anti-doping rule violations.”

“Four years is going to be a lot for my age,” Halep, a 32-year-old Romanian who is number one in the WTA rankings, said in an interview with euronews posted online Friday.

“If this lasts four years, it’s catastrophic,” she said. “And I don't know how I'm going to handle this. It'll probably be [the] End of [my] career, yes.

Halep tested positive for the drug Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open and was also cited for irregularities in her biological passport. Roxadustat stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, which has long been a drug of choice among cyclists and long-distance runners.

Halep said in Friday's interview that she no longer works with coach Patrick Mouratoglou's academy and has not spoken with him in “a few months.”

In a video posted by Mouratoglou on Instagram in November, he accused himself of providing a contaminated substance to Halep.

“We brought him collagen from a company. This collagen turned out to be contaminated,” Mouratoglou said. “There was no way of knowing. But I feel responsible for what happened because it was my team – basically me – who gave him the collagen.”

Halep won the French Open in 2018 by beating Sloane Stephens in the final, and Wimbledon in 2019 by beating Serena Williams in the title match.

Speaking with euronews in Paris. Halep said she hopes to win her appeal and be eligible to compete in next year's Summer Olympics in that city.

“I know I didn’t do anything wrong and I know I’m clean,” Halep said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.