Simona Halep, former world number one, has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after giving positive for roxadustata substance prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The 31-year-old Romanian and current world number 9 tested positive during the past US Open, in New York (USA). In sample A the substance was found and, at Halep’s request, the counter-analysis was already carried out, which confirmed its presence.
Roxadustat is a substance classified by the AMA as ‘Non-specific’, that is, of which it is difficult to prove that they have entered the body accidentally due to some type of food contamination, for instance. Roxadustat, which is marketed as Evrenzo, is included by the World Anti-Doping Agency in the same section as erythropoietin (EPO) and the penalty provided for such violations is four years. This medicine is used to treat anemia, which increases the production of red blood cells that facilitate the transport of oxygen in the blood. That, in sport, is synonymous with greater resistance.
“Now the hardest match of my life begins: the fight for the truth”, Halep has expressed in a statement in which she denies having consciously consumed any prohibited substance.
Halep, winner of Roland Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019, lost at the US Open in August in the first round and has not played since. On September 15, she announced that she was ending the season to undergo a nose job. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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