Simona Halep, the former world number one tennis player, has been embroiled in a doping scandal after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open in August 2022. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) conducted an investigation and found that the contamination likely came from a collagen supplement called Keto MCT.
In a recent ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), it was determined that Halep had unknowingly consumed the banned substance through the contaminated supplement. The panel concluded that her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional, although she was found to have some level of fault or negligence for not exercising sufficient care when using the supplement.
However, the controversy did not end there for Halep, as she was charged with a second separate offence in May 2023 when irregularities were found in her athlete biological passport. The ABP programme, which monitors biological data to detect possible doping, raised concerns about discrepancies in Halep’s blood samples.
Despite the findings by three experts suggesting “likely doping”, Cas ultimately dismissed the charge against Halep, stating that they were not comfortably satisfied that she had committed an offence in this regard.
The case has sparked debate within the tennis community and raised questions about the effectiveness of anti-doping measures in the sport. Halep’s reputation has undoubtedly been tarnished by these allegations, and it remains to be seen how she will move forward from this controversy.
