Simona Halep has been at the center of the storm that nearly destroyed her career for months now. The news of the Romanian’s ban shook the foundations of the tennis world. Halep has had to endure a lot of mudslinging, and now she feels that her trust has been broken since Patrick Mouratoglou spoke up.
In September, the ITIA banned Halep for four years after she tested positive for Roxadustat, a prohibited substance. Since the verdict came out, Simona has decided to appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS). After months of waiting, the Romanian has finally gotten a hearing date.
Halep gave an interview recently, and one of the major takeaways was Mouratoglou’s, her former coach’s, role in this fiasco. Halep added that she had faith in the team, but now her trust in her former coach is broken. “I always trusted this, and my trust is broken a little bit right now. And in the future, I don’t know how it’s going to be if I can trust again,” said Halep
Halep says her trust is ‘broken’ after Patrick Mouratoglou team brought her contaminated collagen supplement unknowingly:
Simona: “It’s true that he spoke out. I wish he could’ve done that a bit earlier. I had stopped working with the academy for a while already. When I found… pic.twitter.com/cZgdHsU2iN
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) December 15, 2023
Simona and her team worked tirelessly to prove her innocence after her provisional ban last year. They managed to gather evidence that the Roxadustat in Halep’s sample was due to contamination in her collagen supplements.
Mouratoglou also spoke up, accepting the blame for his role in Halep’s doping case. His confession, even though it came too late, might just help Simona with her appeal to the CAS.
Patrick Mouratoglou is a premier coach, and, unfortunately, he played a part in Simona Halep’s downfall. The Romanian has since terminated their working relationship, and her future depends on the verdict by CAS. In the meantime, a former player has also shared his opinions on this issue.
A former star speaks up amidst the Simona Halep doping scandal
Victor Hanescu, like Simona, was a former Romanian tennis player who hung up his racket in 2016. He appeared on a podcast recently and spoke about Halep and Mouratoglou.
Victor recalled being excited by Simona’s partnership with Patrick since he has worked with a lot of stars. However, he added that it was strange that Mouratoglou kept mum throughout Halep’s ordeal. The Frenchman spoke up only after the ITIA gave its verdict.
“When Simona Halep was spotted, it seemed to me that Mouratoglou suddenly left this partnership. He didn’t say anything, no statement, to speak only at the end of this long and difficult process,” he said (translated from Romanian via GSP).
It has been a difficult year for Simona Halep, with her future still unclear. She is confident about her appeal to the CAS, though. The hearing will decide if the former world no. 1 can make a comeback to tennis or if it is the end of the road for her.