Maria Sara Popa blamed practices at the Muratoglu Academy, and the WTA No. 449 player posted a message on Instagram on Wednesday, after her claims made international headlines.
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Maria Sara Popa: “I apologize for the offense caused to Patrick Muratoglu and his Academy”
The athlete first said that she entered the academy of former coach Simona Halep at the age of 12, and that the players who trained there received “certain substances”.
Two weeks later, Popa (18 years old) apologizes to the French technician and retracts his statements that appeared on sites such as Tennis Forum or Sportskeeda.
“Hello everyone! I apologize for the offense I caused to Patrick Muratoglu as well as the Muratoglu Academy. I was never a member of the Muratoglu Academy.
I played there in the Muratoglu Cup, a tournament for girls under 12, in 2017. Once again, I apologize for everything that happened” – Maria Sara Popa on Instagram.
What Maria Sara Popa had to say about Muratoglu Academy just two weeks ago:
“I want it to end well, as does every single person who supports it. There were mistakes on both sides. Maybe she should have been careful too, maybe the people of Muratoglu should have been careful to tell her exactly when to give her the substance, maybe.
I don’t know the details and don’t want to get too involved. We don’t know the guts. There are athletes who take these substances and they don’t get caught because they know exactly when to withdraw the substance and they know exactly when to take it. For example, I was tested every week and never taken. But I can’t put my hand in the fire for other athletes.
Additives are various substances that coaches and doctors of the Academies give to athletes. Supplements are just those daily pills that every person can take.
I left when I was 12 years old. I played at the Muratoglu Academy. True, athletes are given some substances from childhood. In juniors, you are not controlled by anti-doping.
They are allowed to grow up a little more, up to the age of 17, and from that time the checks begin more intensively. Players and parents must agree. They are given a sheet and have to sign a consent to take this substance.
The first time I was scared, I really didn’t know what was going on (no – anti-doping control)” – Maria Sara Popafor AS.ro.
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What you need to know about Simona Halep’s doping case
- The news that Simona Halep was temporarily suspended for doping appeared on Friday, October 21, 2022.
- Simona’s case was heard by Sport Resolutions, an independent tribunal in London that hears doping cases in white sport.
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Halep was suspended for 4 years for two separate violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP): the presence and use of the substance roxadustat in a urine sample collected after an anti-doping test conducted at the 2022 US Open (1) and a violation of her biological passport (2).
- Simona exhausted her only recourse: the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
- Halep was heard at the CAS on February 7-9, 2024.
- The Swiss court said that the ex-leader of the WTA asked to cancel the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and “reduce” its sanctions.
- If the 4-year disqualification remains in force, then the ex-WTA leader can theoretically return to the tennis court on October 6, 2026. Halep will be 35 years old at that time.
- On August 29, 2022, Simona Halep played her last official match on the world circuit. At the US Open, in the inaugural round, our athlete unexpectedly defeated Daria Snigur (at that time, 124th place in the WTA, based on the qualification).
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Source: Hot News
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