Martina Navratilova on Simona Halep's doping issue: "Drug thing stinks"
Former tennis legend Martina Navratilova recently shared her perspective on Simona Halep’s doping controversy. The Romanian athlete received a four-year suspension, with the ITIA finally announcing the verdict after leaving the tennis player in an embarrassing state of uncertainty for over a year.
Navratilova on X went unbalanced, releasing words in favor of Halep, writing: “I have always wanted to offer the benefit of the doubt to the athlete. The doping issue sucks, because it concerns the only field in which you are judged guilty until you can prove your innocence.
As an athlete, even if legal, considering the side effects of this drug I don’t think anyone would be eager to take it.”
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Simona Halep’s doping ban
The four-year ban received by Simona Halep has not left the tennis world indifferent.
There are two violations punished by the independent tribunal, established by Sport Resolutions. The first concerns the positivity to Roxadustat, a substance prohibited by the regulation, found at the end of his journey at the 2022 US Open.
The second, however, refers to an irregularity present in the biological passport. Halep, in a recent interview with Front Office Sports, said she was shocked by the sentence, because in her opinion the evidence presented by the legal team seemed to be able to clarify every point.
Patrick Mouratoglou, Halep’s coach at the time of the positive test at the US Open, lashed out at the International Tennis Integrity Agency, explaining: “I cannot believe the decision that the ITIA took today regarding Simona Halep’s case.
I am extremely shocked.
Throughout the year, I have observed the methods and behavior of an organization that should treat players fairly and seek to establish the truth. I don’t think the ITIA sought the truth in Simona’s case, and I don’t think they treated her acceptably.
I hope the WTA, ATP and PTPA do their best to change a system that is destroying the careers of innocent players.”
