Patrick Mouratoglou breaks silence over Simona Halep's doping scandal, professes solidarity with his player
Patrick Mouratglou has finally broken his silence over Simona Halep's doping scandal, declaring that he will stand behind his protege in her fight against the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruling.
Taking to Instagram, the French coach shared Halep's statement vowing to bring the truth to light, stating that he was "100%" behind the Romanian and that he would support her all the way through the legal battle.
"I support you 100% in this fight, Simona. All the way through," Mouratoglou wrote.
In her statement earlier, the two-time Grand Slam champion had declared that she had never once in her life ingested any prohibited substance knowingly, adding that she was going to fight as hard as possible to reclaim her honor.
The former World No. 1 had also made it clear that it was not about the trophies or prize money for her, but simply to wipe away the stain that has now formed over her unadulterated love for tennis for more than two decades.
"I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and have faith that sooner or later, the truth will come out. It's not about the titles or the money. It's about honor, and the love story I have developed with the game of tennis over the last 25 years," Simona Halep said in her statement.
Former players Pam Shriver and Rennae Stubbs have also professed solidarity with Simona Halep
Former tennis players Pam Shriver and Rennae Stubbs also professed solidarity with Simona Halep after her doping scandal broke, taking to social media to register their thoughts.
Stubbs remarked that the Romanian never struck her as the sort of person who would cheat to get ahead, but did not want to comment any further until the investigation was complete.
"I’ll reserve my thoughts until [Simona Halep] has gone through the process of investigating how it happened & how it ended up in her system. Shes never struck me as someone who would cheat to get ahead. Hope this is a mistake, if not, then this is terrible," Stubbs tweeted.
Shriver, meanwhile, was more cryptic in her messaging, asking players to beware of being manipulated and being controlled by their team members. Naturally, many fans saw it as a veiled dig at Patrick Mouratglou, but his recent statement will go a long way in dispelling those rumors.
"Players on all tours at all levels, beware of totally changing your team and letting go of all trusted and familiar colleagues of years and years. It’s easy to be manipulated and controlled by people good at controlling and manipulating," Shriver tweeted.