The Romanian star was provisionally suspended by ITIA for four years
Romanian tennis star Simona Halep confirmed that she has no plans to retire even if the four-year ban imposed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) is upheld.
Halep, who turned 32 in September, was sanctioned by ITIA for taking a prohibited substance Roxadustat — which helps in red blood cell production — during the 2022 US Open.
The Romanian denied the allegations and will appeal ITIA’s harsh sentence at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) early next year with hopes of overturning the ban.
If the ban is not overturned by CAS, Halep will return to the court in 2026, by that time she will be 35. However, despite knowing everything, the two-time Grand Slam winner confirmed that she wouldn’t take a retirement and would choose how to end her career.
“I prefer not to consider the worst-case scenario. It would be a disaster. Especially since, if the sanction is maintained, I cannot know what will happen over the next three years, how my body will evolve,” she said while speaking to Paris Match.
My dream is to come back, whatever my age. One thing is certain: I want to choose how my career ends and I don’t want to end my playing life anywhere other than on a court. I think that, given the work I have put in over all these years, I deserve it.”
It is worth mentioning that a fair share of the blame has been centered around Halep’s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who accepted the responsibility and guilt that it was his team’s mistake that the 32-year-old was given the prohibited substance.
However, Halep had no feud with the French as she believed that the whole incident wasn’t intentional. However, she remained firm on the fact that Mouratoglou’s negligence “destroyed” her 25-year-long career.
“I’m sure it wasn’t done intentionally, and I’m grateful he admits the mistake was his and his team’s. Yes, they are the ones who gave me this food supplement. And for this error – their error – I am the only one to pay the high price: twenty-five years of career destroyed,” she added.
She reached her highest No. 1 in the WTA ranking in 2017.
Halep won the Wimbledon title in 2019 by beating the 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the final, a year after clinching the French Open.