Simona Halep's claims of unfairness receive pushback from ITF
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) issued a clarification after Simona Halep accused the global tennis governing body of unfairness in the treatment of her doping case. The ITF said in a statement that they have had no involvement in Halep's case as all doping-related cases in tennis are solely managed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
Halep recently opened up about her troubles after she first tested positive for the substance Roxadustat and was provisionally suspended thereafter, almost seven months ago.
The two-time Grand Slam champion said that the ITF has already caused the cancelation of one of her hearings on the matter and has told her that next month's hearing could be pushed as well. Halep feels it is "not fair" for her to have to wait eight months for a hearing.
"The next step is a hearing at the end of May, the 28th, but it is very fragile because the ITF said that they might cancel it as well," Simona Halep told Tennis Majors in an exclusive interview.
"If they do that, it will be almost eight months since I’ve been provisionally suspended for the first time and I believe that it’s not fair to spend eight months without even being judged by the Tribunal."
The ITF responded on Friday, revealing that they have had nothing to do with the case.
"The ITF has had no involvement in the management of this case, as the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is managed and enforced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on behalf of the ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slams," the ITF said in a statement on Twitter.
ITF statement regarding comments made by Simona Halep:
"The ITF has had no involvement in the management of this case, as the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is managed and enforced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on behalf of the ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slams.”
The 31-year-old tennis star also revealed that she opposed the ITF's request to cancel the March hearing as she deserves an expedited hearing due to the fact that she is currently serving a suspension. Halep further stated that the ITF denied her request to lift her suspension as well.
"The ITF requested that the hearing on March 24th should be cancelled. I did not agree with that, because as the rule says, a player that is provisionally suspended is entitled to get an expedited hearing. Because everything takes so long, I asked the ITF to lift up my suspension to be able to play but they also refused it," she stated.
Simona Halep says ITF denied evidence she sent regarding doping case
Simona Halep was informed in October that her urine sample taken at the US Open in August had returned a positive test result. During her recent interview, she revealed that she took 10 tests after her positive test, all of which came back negative. Halep said she sent the test results to the ITF back in December, but the tennis body denied the evidence.
"I have sent the evidence to the ITF and they deny it. I sent it in December when we worked on it," Simona Halep said.
The former World No. 1 last competed at the 2022 US Open, where she lost to Daria Snigur in the opening round. She won the Canadian Open in Toronto in the build-up to the US Open. Ranked in the WTA Top-10 at the time of her suspension, the Romanian is currently ranked No. 26. More concerningly, Halep is also set to miss the 2023 French Open in May.