Former coach Darren Cahill's belief in Halep is 'unwavering' amid second doping violation

The former coach of Simona Halep, Darren Cahill, confirmed his support for the Romanian following the doping accusation.

Simona Halep is going through a difficult time after facing a new doping allegation. The former world No. 1 was suspended after the 2022 US Open due to an altered urine sample, and after several months without a trial, Halep recently appeared in an interview where she requested a prompt trial and insisted on her innocence.

"Since October 7, when I got charged by the ITIA for a suspicion of doping, I have lived the worst nightmare I have ever gone through in my life," claimed Halep

"I feel helpless facing such harassment and a motivation on their behalf to prove me guilty of something I never did.”

“Once again, all my life I have been totally against any sort of cheating. It doesn't align with my values," she added.

"The only thing I hope for, at this point, is to have the possibility to finally access the independent and impartial judges in a Tribunal, that will give me the chance to prove my innocence."

On Friday, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) imposed a new doping charge on her, eight months after the initial sanction, and former coach of the Romanian, Darren Cahill, came out to offer his support once again for Halep

"I stand by every single word of my original statement way back in October. My belief and support of Simona is unwavering," wrote Cahill.

"I look forward to her having the chance to present her case to the independent panel asap," he added.

The 2-time Grand Slam champion has received support from various tennis personalities in addition to Cahill, such as Chris Evert, Sorana Cirstea, Patrick Mouratoglou, and Ashleigh Barty, among others.

"I released a statement when this came out about Simona and I'll be buried standing next to that statement because of her integrity and the DNA she is made of. There's no way she'd ever ever cheat," Cahill said

"She is a great woman and a great person. There's no way she could have done the wrong thing," he concluded.