Tribunal believes Halep was doping at last year's Wimbledon

A tribunal that heard the doping case of the former world number one Simona Halep believes that they have strong grounds to suspect that the player was ‘blood doping’ during Wimbledon 2022.

The 31-year-old received a four-year suspension on Tuesday after testing positive for the banned substance Roxadustat during the US Open last year.

In a detailed verdict as per The Guardian, it was stated that the Tribunal suspected that it was ‘highly likely’ that Halep was ‘blood doping’ last year during Wimbledon but they could not establish facts as there are no blood samples available of the player from April to September 2022.

“By contrast with their opinion relating to August 2022 and the US Open, there is no unequivocal assertion by the expert panel that the blood doping by the player was ‘highly likely’,” the report stated. “The same applies to the allegation of blood doping in connection with the Wimbledon championships in June/July 2022 … There is a period from 27 April to 22 September for which the player’s blood values are unknown.”

After the initial verdict was announced on Tuesday, Halep reiterated her innocence and stated that she would fight to clear her name in a detailed statement posted on her social media accounts.

“Today, a tribunal under the tennis anti-doping programme announced a tentative decision in my case,” she wrote in a message. “The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues.

“I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance. I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban.”

Halep, who has not played a single professional tennis match at the highest level, has won two Grand Slams in her career — French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019.