Former Grand Slam champion Simona Halep handed 4-year ban for doping

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Former French Open and Wimbledon champion in women's singles Simona Halep from Romania was handed a four-year ban for doping on Tuesday.

"An independent tribunal has suspended Romanian tennis player Simona Halep for a period of four years following breaches of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP)," the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said in a statement.

It also said that Halep, 31, was charged with two separate breaches of anti-doping rules.

The former world number one previously tested positive for Roxadustat, which is on the banned substance list of the World Anti-Doping Agency, at the 2022 US Open, and was provisionally suspended in October 2022.

It is "the second charge related to irregularities in Halep’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)," the ITIA said.

Her suspension will end on Oct. 6, 2026 and the Romanian player can appeal the ban.

One of the famous tennis players, Halep clinched two Grand Slam singles titles in her career, the first being at the French Open in 2018 and then at Wimbledon a year later.