‘Extremely shocked’ Simona Halep hits out over latest delay – ‘When is it going to stop?’
Simona Halep has expressed her disappointment at the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) latest request to delay the hearing into her doping case.
The former world No 1 has been sidelined since October last year after she was provisionally suspended for testing positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open in August.
Halep vowed to clear her name after the results became public, but her case was hit by several delays and last week she suffered another setback when the ITIA announced that she had been hit with “further and separate breach of the tennis anti-doping programme” after an independent assessment found “irregularities in her athlete biological passport”.
The two-time Grand Slam winner again protested her innocence after the latest announcement stating that she was the victim of “harassment” as she has not been given an opportunity to clear her
And it has now emerged that her case will once again be delayed.
The 31-year-old again lashed out on social media, stating the latest setback is “contrary to my rights”.
“I am once again extremely shocked and disappointed by the ITIA’s attitude,” she wrote.
“While the ITIA via their representative Nicole Sapstead was publicly stating three days ago that the ITIA ‘has remained committed to engaging Mrs Halep in an empathetic, efficient and timely manner’, they were at the same time officially requesting the tribunal to delay my hearing… for the third time.
“The ITIA publicly states one thing while privately doing another, I have repeatedly asked for my hearing and the ITIA has repeatedly sought to delay it.
“When is it going to stop? I ask the question once again. I am entitled to a quick hearing. Acting this way is contrary to my rights.”
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) May 22, 2023
Halep’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has backed the Romanian since the first charge was made public also issued a stern response to the latest ITIA delay.
“Double game. The game the ITIA plays from day 1,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Frenchman insisted last week that Halep’s “blood parameters are perfectly normal”.
“The ITIA hasn’t found any illegal substance in her blood but just states that her blood parameters are “suspicious”,” he said.
“Well renowned expert who have checked on them, have established that this statement is totally wrong and a biased interpretation, and that her blood parameters are perfectly normal.”
READ MORE: Simona Halep’s mentors come to her defence – ‘My belief and support of Simona is unwavering’
