SUMMARY
- Simona Halep tested positive for Roxadustat in 2022, and was subsequently banned for four years.
- Halep will now sue the Canadian company that produced the contaminated supplement
Simona Halep had her life turned upside down when the International Tennis Integrity Agency banned her for four years for doping. The Romanian player has endured a lot of brickbats from the community since the ban. Halep‘s life has become a living nightmare, but it looks like her ordeal is close to an end. Moreover, she now seeks reparations from the company that ruined her career and reputation.
The ITIA banned Simona since her urine sample contained Roxadustat, a banned substance. Halep’s team was able to prove that the Roxadustat in her sample was due to contamination in her supplement. Patrick Mouratoglou accepted the role he inadvertently played in the ban. And now, Simona is about to sue the Canadian company that produces the supplement.
According to reports, Halep is seeking more than $10 million in damages from Quantum Nutrition. The company operates as Schinoussa Superfoods, and Simona used their product during the US Open in 2022. She tested positive for the banned substance immediately after crashing out of the tournament.
Halep sues Canadian company over supplement linked to doping suspension
NEW YORK, Feb 16 — Former world number one Simona Halep is suing the Canadian company that produced a nutritional supplement that she believes led to her being handed a four-year…https://t.co/IMNJKPV77V— Anti-Doping Database (@Dopinglist) February 16, 2024
Halep stated that the keto MCT she used from Schinoussa failed to disclose that it contained Roxadustat on the label. She claimed that it was Quantum’s negligence that damaged her career. Additionally, Simona is also seeking punitive damages, as she sued in a New York state court in Manhattan. Quantum has not responded to the news so far, but its founder claimed that Simona was using the company as the “fall guy” last year.
Since the ITIA banned Halep for testing positive for Roxadustat, Simona Halep appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). The court heard her case last week, and she is awaiting the final judgment.
What is Roxadustat, the substance Simona Halep tested positive for, and why is it hard to detect?
Roxadustat is an anti-anemia drug that boosts the production of red blood cells. The drug has been around since the 2010s but can be found only in markets in Asia.
However, Roxadustat is hard to detect since the substance has a half-life of 10–15 hours. Unfortunately, this allows athletes to potentially use Roxadustat and get away with it too.
Athletes who trained in high-altitude camps raised suspicions of the anti-doping controllers, as they were harder to reach. To combat this problem, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) came up with the whereabouts rules.
According to this rule, players have to be available for testing for 60 minutes each day. They also have to provide their home address as well as the location and training time. The players will be held accountable for any test they miss.
The tennis world and Simona Halep await the final decision of the CAS. Halep is confident that the truth will prevail, and she can return to the sport this year. As of now, there is no date on when the court will announce its verdict.