Simona Halep will return to the WTA Miami court (after TAS reduced her ban to 9 months) and revealed that she was initially fined 4 years after a blood sample taken from her in Bucharest was stored improperly.

>> Simona Halep explained how she ended up taking a tainted supplement

Simona Halep: “It was about two hours when my blood was at the wrong temperature”

The two-time Grand Slam champion said she felt betrayed knowing her career could be ruined by a lab error in Romania.

“There was a problem with blood. It was something very shocking… because after 6-7 months they came to me and told me that my blood was not like that and all my blood tests were negative. No banned substance or positive result was found in my blood. Absolutely never.

I was so shocked when the blood appeared that I didn’t even understand what the documents were, where they were from, how they were. I was just talking to the lawyers. I was shocked that something was happening to my blood when everything was normal.

I found out where the blood came from in Lausanne during the trial when I was in the room. A document with blood appeared on the middle screens, but I didn’t notice it. My brother came and told me to see what was written in Romanian. And when I look at the screen, there was the flag of Romania and on the right it said “Bucharest, Romania”.

Then I had a moment when I actually could not say anything and did not understand how I could be suspended for four years based on a document from Romania. Then it was a shock for me, it is incomprehensible. It’s hard for me even now, I have a lot of emotions because it was the biggest shock of my life.

Let me know that the sample taken in Bucharest, when I am 10 minutes from the laboratory, was tested without regard to the storage rules. The blood was not maintained at the proper temperature. About two hours passed when my blood was at the wrong temperature. But despite this, my blood sample was within normal limits and did not indicate any traces of doping.

Of course, the people at the Lausanne court were also surprised that something like this could happen, especially since we were in the same city and very close to the laboratory. And I also expressed my disappointment there that a 25-year career can be destroyed because of negligence, because of malicious intent, or simply because you don’t respect the person you’re checking” – Simona Halepin an interview for CNN’s Antena 3.

Simona Halep: “I do not feel hatred or revenge towards anyone”

“It cannot be at such a high level. I was very disappointed and I am very disappointed. Therefore, returning to the word betrayal, I can say that I felt it. I never ask for favors, but I do want some rules to be followed and to be properly vetted. It is unfortunate to see that this cannot be respected here.

The disappointment is huge, but I am a person who does not take revenge. I’m not here today to bash anyone or express my frustration. No, I put up with everything that was happening and knew that good would prevail and it was proven that I did nothing and there is no trace of doping in my blood. But I’m here to express my disappointment and hope that something like this never happens to an athlete again, because it’s a very, very big injury. Emotionally, you are completely destroyed.

I can say that at some point I lost faith in goodness. But coming to a decision now, I want to believe in the good again. And I am very glad that I do not feel any hatred or revenge towards anyone. Mistakes were made, but it’s much harder to come to terms with that on purpose. And I think there was something strange about the blood. Yes, I say it” – Simona Halep.

>> Harsh conclusion in the case of Simona Halep: “Her victory in the appeal does not compensate for the lost time”

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.

• 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).

• 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.

• 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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>> WTA reaction after the announcement of the return of Simona Halep: “We fully support the TAS decision”

>> Presence at the 2024 Olympics, Simona Halep’s achievable goal – how to get to Paris

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>> ITIA and Simona Halep clarification: “We respect the player’s right to appeal, as well as the result”