Simona Halep was dropped from the US Open field on Monday because of a provisional doping suspension.
The US Tennis Association announced that Halep, a two-time grand slam champion and former No.1 player, “was automatically withdrawn” when the tournament’s qualifying draw was held. Halep’s spot in the main draw for the women’s singles tournament in Flushing Meadows went to Taylor Townsend. Play begins on August 28.
During a provisional suspension, a player is ineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned events. Halep tested positive at last year’s US Open for the banned substance Roxadustat, according to the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
That is a drug approved for medical use in the European Union to treat the symptoms of anemia caused by chronic kidney failure. According to the EU’s medicines agency, it stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, which has long been a doping product favoured by cyclists and distance runners.
Halep was accused of a second doping offense in May for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport. She was seeded No. 7 in New York in 2022 and lost in the first round to Daria Snigur of Ukraine.
Halep is a 31-year-old from Romania who first reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017. She won the French Open in 2018 by beating Sloane Stephens in the final, and Wimbledon in 2019 by defeating Serena Williams in the title match.
Halep has pled her innocence throughout and has grown frustrated at the delays in the process. “I have been notified that I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity, which came as the biggest shock of my life,” she had said after she was provisionally suspended.
“Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with.”
AP/PTI
