"I think she is a great athlete and a great human being" - 'No way' Halep would intentionally take banned substance according to Wilander

Mats Wilander spoke on Simona Halep getting suspended from tennis explaining that there is no way she would take a banned substance intentionally.

Simona Halep was banned from tennis after her sample from the US Open tested positive for a banned substance. She provided another sample but that came back positive as well which resulted in the ban. The Romanian now faces a battle to clear her name and hopefully continue her tennis career but she will be out of the sport for the duration of her battle.

Wilander spoke to Eurosport about the situation saying:

“My heart goes out to Simona Halep. I would never claim that I know her. But I have watched her play a lot of tennis matches over the years and I have interviewed her quite a few times. I would say of all the players I have come across, she is one of the ones that there is no way that she would intentionally do anything.”

He added:

“She said she is going to try to clear her name. You never know, it is possible these days that you inadvertently get something in you that you might not know about or whatever. But again, I can’t imagine that there is an athlete out there in the professional tennis world that does not know what is okay to take or whatever. So I am thinking it is a clear mistake. Somewhere along the way, I can not imagine… I think Simona Halep is a great athlete and a great human being, and my heart goes out to her."

And finished off with:

"I hope she can clear her name because I want to see her out on a court because I am assuming that she is innocent, she has a great spirit about her."