Stere Halep, the father of Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, recently provided an update on her doping case. According to him, the athlete will face judgment on Sunday, April 30, by the Sports Resolutions Tribunal. This comes after a two-day postponement from the initially scheduled date.
“We are still in the dark. We are waiting just like everyone else. We have no information about what is happening. The original deadline was set for the 28th, but it appears to have been pushed back to the 30th. We are coping well. When you are innocent, you fight relentlessly,” said Simona Halep’s father, as reported by Libertatea, after attending the FCSB-Farul football match at the National Arena.
Simona Halep, aged 31, formerly held the top position in the women’s singles ranking and boasts multiple Grand Slam titles. Currently, she occupies the 26th spot in the WTA ranking and has been absent from tennis since August 2022.
In August 2022, during the US Open, Simona Halep made an announcement on October 21, revealing that she had tested positive for Roxadustat, a prohibited substance. As a result, the International Tennis Integrity Agency promptly issued a temporary suspension for her on the same day.
The use of Roxadustat places Halep at risk of facing a four-year suspension since the World Anti-Doping Agency categorizes it similarly to erythropoietin. This drug is employed in the treatment of anemia among individuals with kidney complications. In practical terms, Roxadustat enhances the production of red blood cells, thereby improving oxygen transport in the bloodstream and consequently enhancing an athlete’s endurance.
