Simona Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion, worries that her playing career may come to an end if her appeal of her four-year doping suspension is unsuccessful.
On February 7–9, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hold a three-day hearing over Halep's appeal against the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which declared that she had "committed intentional anti-doping rule violations."
“Four years is going to be a lot for my age,” Halep, a 32-year-old from Romania who has been No. 1 in the WTA rankings, said in an interview with euronews posted online Friday.
“It’s catastrophic if it’s going to be four years,” she said. “And I don’t know how I will handle it. Probably it’s going to be [the] end of [my] career, yes.”
In a video that Mouratoglou shared on Instagram in November, he accepted responsibility for giving Halep a tainted substance.
“We brought her collagen from a company. This collagen happened to be contaminated,” Mouratoglou said. “There was no way to know it. But I feel responsible for what happened because it’s my team — so me, basically — who brought her this collagen.”
Halep defeated Serena Williams in the Wimbledon championship match in 2019 and defeated Sloane Stephens in the French Open final in 2018.
Speaking in Paris with Euronews, Halep expressed her optimism that her appeal will be granted and that she will be able to participate in the Summer Olympics in that city next year.
“I know I didn’t do anything wrong and I know I’m clean,” Halep said.
