The year 2023 was one of the worst years in the career of Simona Halep. Shortly before the US Open, the Romanian tennis star faced a massive punishment on account of her doping violation and was banned from tennis for four years. It was a potential career-ending blow because Halep’s best years would essentially be behind her. Recently, her former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, opened up about the unfortunate case of Halep.
The former World Number 1 blamed her coaching staff for the mess created in her career. Following the announcement of her doping case, she had strong words against them, as did her coach.
Patrick Mouratoglou continues his fight in the doping case of Simona Halep
Recently, Mouratoglou was involved in an interview with L’Equipe, where he opened up about Halep’s doping violation and its side effects on her career. He said, “I would never have imagined that by recommending this collagen to Simona, she would be a victim of contamination. The consequences for them are disastrous and we will continue to fight so that the truth is established and that her innocence is proven .”
Mouratoglou sur Halep : "Je n'aurais jamais imaginé qu'en recommandant ce collagène à Simona, elle serait victime de contamination. Les conséquences pour elles sont désastreuses et on continuera de se battre pour que la vérité soit établie et que son innocence soit prouvée."
— Quentin Moynet (@QuentinMoynet) January 12, 2024
Halep received the punishment in September last year for failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport. As a result, she was provisionally suspended in October 2022 and the ruling of her case was announced a few months ago. However, Halep has appealed against her ban and the hearing will take place in a few days.
Following the doping ban, Halep accused her team of giving her contaminated nutritional supplements. She has maintained her innocence and maintained that she took it unknowingly. As a result, she is hopeful of the overturn of her ban. On the contrary, she had strong words against her team and expressed her emotions in tears.
What did Halep say about her team?
In the aftermath of her doping case, Halep stopped working with Patrick Mouratoglou and his academy. She once revealed how she was let down by her coaching team and took a jibe at them. “It’s true that he went out. I wish he could have done that a little bit earlier. I have stopped working with the academy for a while already.”
Halep will hope that the ruling of her appeal goes in her favor. At 32, time is running out for her and if the decision goes against her, it will potentially be the end of her illustrious career.
