In an interview with Tennis Majors, Simona Halep stated that she repeatedly appealed to the ITF to consider her case. In response, the International Tennis Federation turned the ball over to the ITIA court.

Close relationship between the International Tennis Federation and the ITIA

The Tennis Majors website notes that it attempted to contact both the ITF and ITIA prior to publication of the article, but only received a proper response after publication. At the time, a spokesperson for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said that “the process is ongoing and is being conducted in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code,” News.ro reported.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said it could not comment on the matter and pressed the ITIA. The ITIA was founded in 2022 by the governing bodies of professional tennis (including the ITF).

When asked after the publication of the article why Halep turned to the ITF, the Romanian’s lawyer Howard Jacobs replied: “There is no noticeable difference in how anti-doping cases are handled, since the ITIA “took over” from the ITF – the same lawyers handle the cases, all documents are sent through the same the same online portal, it is the same group of judges and the arbitrations are administered by the same agency – Sport Resolutions – which even today claims on its website that all anti-doping cases in tennis are decided by the “ITF Independent Tribunal”.

Simona Halep said in an interview with Tennis Majors that she is not asking for special treatment in her case after months of temporary suspension for doping, but is only asking to be tried so that she can continue her career.

Halep said she has a hearing scheduled for May 28, but the ITF, which has already rejected her testimony and request to have her suspension lifted, may seek to cancel the hearing. “If he does that, in eight months I won’t be able to play because of a temporary suspension, and it seems unfair to me to go eight months without playing and without the slightest chance to declare myself in front of independent judges,” the athlete added.

She emphasized that she had never knowingly used any banned product and that this time it was a contamination of a food supplement. “I didn’t even know what roxadustat was. I have never heard of it. I had to look it up on the internet to find out.”

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