Latest news with #SimonaHalep
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
After Simona Halep Another Romanian Player Suspended for Prohibited Substance
Romanian tennis player Irina Fetecau has been suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for 10 months after testing positive for a banned substance. The 28-year-old was found to have 4-Methylpentan-2-amine, an illegal stimulant, in her body when she consumed a contaminated pre-training supplement. Fetecau, who has competed for Romania in many ITF and WTA tournaments, returned a positive after consuming "Gorillalpha Yeti Juice," one of those sports foods later found to include the prohibited stimulant but one that was not marked as containing any. The violation was deemed by the ITIA to have been accidental and the product of an adulterated product and a circumstance leading to the reduction of the ban. The positive test report adds to the emphasis on supplement use by elite athletes, and follows a recent string of doping scandal outbreaks among Romanian tennis players—in particular the high-profile suspension of two-time Grand Slam title winner Simona Halep. While Halep's was over the banned drug Roxadustat, Fetecau's case adds to the risks to sportspersons who take unregulated nutritional supplements. Simona Halep (ROU) hits a forehand against Paula Badosa© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The ITIA stated that Fetecau co-operated throughout the investigation and submitted evidence of accidental ingestion. The 10-month ineligibility is served from the sample date, so she is free to return to compete later in the year. This latest trend is an eye-opener to sportsmen in general, reminding them to be careful about the supplements they use, as the consequences of even accidental violations can prove calamitous for their career as professional athletes. The ITIA is still calling upon the athletes to consult experts and only use authorized supplements so that incidents like this one can be avoided.
Free Malaysia Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Free Malaysia Today
Serena says she would've gotten 20-year ban if she failed drug tests like Sinner
Serena Williams retired in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam trophies. (EPA Images pic) NEW YORK : American great Serena Williams said she would have been banned for 20 years and stripped of her Grand Slam titles had she failed drug tests like men's world No 1 Jannik Sinner did last year. Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February following an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), which challenged an independent tribunal's decision to clear him of wrongdoing after two positive tests for the anabolic agent clostebol. 'I love the guy, love this game,' Williams, who retired in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam trophies, told Time Magazine. 'He's great for the sport. I've been put down so much, I don't want to bring anyone down. Men's tennis needs him. '(But) if I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let's be honest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.' Reuters has contacted Sinner's team and Wada for comment. Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Sinner, whose ban will end on May 4, has always maintained his innocence though his case raised questions about whether he had received preferential treatment from the authorities. Iga Swiatek's case also caused some surprise with the women's world No 2 accepting a one-month suspension in November after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. Former world No 1 Simona Halep was also banned despite denying knowingly taking the banned drug roxadustat and her four-year suspension was cut to nine months in 2024 after an appeal at sport's highest court. Williams also said she took extra care with what she put into her body during her career in case she ingested something that got her in trouble.
Daily Tribune
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Ex-world number one Halep announces retirement after home defeat
Former tennis world number one Simona Halep announced her retirement on Tuesday after her first-round defeat at the WTA Cluj-Napoca tournament in her native Romania. The 33-year-old lost 6-1, 6-1 to 72nd-ranked Italian Lucia Bronzetti. 'I don't know if it is with joy or sadness that I speak to you but I made this decision in my soul and conscience, I have always been lucid. My body no longer follows, but today I wanted to play and say my goodbyes on the court,' Halep told the Romanian crowd. The two -time Grand Slam champion, who had been working to re-establish herself after a doping ban, pulled out of Australian Open qualifying last month citing pain in her knee and shoulder. Halep returned to tennis in March last year after her career had been on hold since October 7, 2022, after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open. The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles was then caught up in a second affair, over 'irregularities' in the data of her biological passport.
Express Tribune
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Halep announces retirement
BUCHAREST: Former tennis world number one Simona Halep announced her retirement on Tuesday after her first-round defeat at the WTA Cluj-Napoca tournament in her native Romania. The 33-year-old lost 6-1, 6-1 to 72nd-ranked Italian Lucia Bronzetti. "I don't know if it is with joy or sadness that I speak to you but I made this decision in my soul and conscience, I have always been lucid. My body no longer follows, but today I wanted to play and say my goodbyes on the court," Halep told the Romanian crowd. The two-time Grand Slam champion, who had been working to re-establish herself after a doping ban, pulled out of Australian Open qualifying last month citing pain in her knee and shoulder. Halep returned to tennis in March last year after her career had been on hold since October 7, 2022, after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open. The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles was then caught up in a second affair, over "irregularities" in the data of her biological passport. She was handed a four-year ban by the ITIA, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing her positive test for roxadustat -- used to treat anaemia and banned as a blood doping agent -- was the result of a tainted supplement. She denied knowingly doping and her ban was reduced from four years to nine months. But she never managed to regain the level that allowed her to rise to the top of the world rankings in October 2017, a position she occupied for a total of 64 weeks in her career. Halep won 24 WTA titles over her 19-year career including the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. She also played in three other Grand Slam finals -- the French Open in 2014 and 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018.
Gulf Today
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Former world number one Halep announces retirement from tennis
Former tennis world number one Simona Halep announced her retirement after her first-round defeat at the WTA Cluj-Napoca tournament in her native Romania. "I don't know if it's with sadness or joy - I think I'm feeling both - but my soul is at peace with this decision, and I've always been realistic with myself. My body can no longer handle as much as it used to, to get me where I probably once was," Halep said, using a microphone to address the crowd in Cluj, Romania, following her 6-1, 6-1 loss to 72-ranked Italian Lucia Bronzetti in the Transylvania Open. "It's very hard to reach that level, and I know what it takes to get there," Halep said. "That's why I wanted to be here today, in Cluj, to play in front of you and say goodbye on the tennis court, even if my performance wasn't great." The two-time Grand Slam champion, who had been working to re-establish herself after a doping ban, pulled out of Australian Open qualifying last month citing pain in her knee and shoulder. Halep returned to tennis in March last year after her career had been on hold since October 7, 2022, after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open. The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles was then caught up in a second affair, over "irregularities" in the data of her biological passport. She was handed a four-year ban by the ITIA, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing her positive test for roxadustat — used to treat anaemia and banned as a blood doping agent — was the result of a tainted supplement. She denied knowingly doping and her ban was reduced from four years to nine months. But she never managed to regain the level that allowed her to rise to the top of the world rankings in October 2017, a position she occupied for a total of 64 weeks in her career. Halep won 24 WTA titles over her 19-year career including the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. She also played in three other Grand Slam finals — the French Open in 2014 and 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018.
