Mats Wilander, the former world number one and winner of seven Grand Slam titles, has given several interviews to Simona Halep over time, and now he has reacted to the doping case involving the former WTA leader.

Simona was provisionally suspended after testing positive for roxadustat, a substance in the EPO category, at the 2022 US Open.

Mats Wilander believes that Simona Halep would not have specifically used doping

In an interview with Eurosport, Wilander said she was confident that Halep would not have deliberately taken a banned substance and hoped she would return to the tennis court. The only explanation the former big player can come up with is that Simone “took something by mistake.”

“My heart is with Simona Halep. I would never pretend to know her. But I have watched her play many tennis matches over the years and interviewed her several times. I’d say that out of all the players I’ve met, she’s one of those who can’t do anything specifically.

She said she would try to clear her name. You never know, you might accidentally pick up something today that you know little about. But then again, I can’t imagine that there is an athlete in the world of professional tennis who doesn’t know what’s good to eat. Therefore, I believe that this is a clear mistake. Somewhere along the way, I can’t imagine…

I think Simona Halep is a great athlete and a great person, and my heart goes out to her. And I hope she can rehabilitate her name because I want to see her on the field because I guess she’s innocent, she has a great spirit.” Mats Wilander for Eurosport.

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