‘Absolutely Disgusting’ – ‘Scandalous’ Twist in Simona Halep’s Doping Saga Leaves Tennis Fans Gobsmacked

 

 

 

All is not well for Simona Halep. The Romanian tennis player was accused of violating Anti-Doping rules in a test conducted in August 2022 following her defeat in the US Open first round. Since then, the tennis fans have continued to keep her on target, despite being declared innocent in the case in March this year. She was also to be compensated with 20,000 Swiss Francs($22,650) by the International Tennis Integrity Agency. Taking to social media platform X on Tuesday, a user reignited the debate about her case.

 

Watch What’s Trending Now!

A user, calling the verdict Scandalous, tweeted, “ Four months passed and it’s now clear that the CAS award in Halep’s case will never be published because one of the parties objected to it.” The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dropped the case against Halep after hearing it between February 7-9 in Lausanne. However, it is yet to publish a detailed report that reflects the decision of the court in clearing her name in the case.

 

Four months passed and it’s now clear that the CAS award in Halep’s case will never be published because one of the parties objected to it.

Scandalous. Outrageous. Lamentable.

The most serious, grave doping case in tennis history and its resolution is kept behind closed doors. pic.twitter.com/UZ3Fh1mnux

 

— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) July 15, 2024

 

Expand Tweet

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Article continues below this ad

 

While Halep lauded the verdict calling it “the triumph of truth,” several tennis fans were not happy about how the course of action was undertaken. And this unhappiness has once again turned into anger as tennis supporters have moved the social media platforms yet again.

 

‘Biggest doping fraud ever…’ Fans lash out at ITIA accusing them of bias

As soon as the above tweet went viral, tennis fans took to social media to protest against the delay in the publication of a detailed report. One user wrote, “The most serious, grave doping case in tennis history and its resolution is kept behind closed doors.”

 

Back in March this year, three CAS judges determined that it was more likely than not that Halep’s positive drug test was the result of accidentally consuming a contaminated supplement. “Having carefully considered all the evidence put before it, the CAS Panel determined that Ms. Halep had established, on the balance of probabilities, that the Roxadustat entered her body through the consumption of a contaminated supplement…that the Roxadustat, as detected in her sample, came from that contaminated product,” CAS had said.

 

That’s so messed up. It makes sense that all CAS hearings are closed to the public when they’re in progress, but once they’re finished all reasoned decisions should be made public for transparency. https://t.co/HimdHnYijR

 

— Kaley (@yang_bo_dudnik) July 16, 2024

 

Expand Tweet

 

Another user responded similarly and questioned the verdict of CAS. “Knew it and called it when CAS reduced her suspension. Their reasoning for doing so was extremely suspect and didn’t make sense, her delusional fans said “wait for the full report” well now it’s never coming lmao what a coincidence 🤡 Halep is the biggest doping fraud ever.”

 

For the unversed, Halep was banned from the tennis world for four years after the case came into the limelight. But the CAS Panel decided to reduce it to just nine months which concluded in July 2023. Hence, the panel ordered that the Romanian player must be allowed to take part in matches with immediate effect. One more user added to the chaos.

 

Questioning the impartial nature of the ITIA, the user wrote, “ITIA once again showing how “transparent” and “credible” they are. Hypocrites. This is absolutely disgusting. It’s pretty obviously that something fishy went down. Halep got away with corruption and the worst of all she acts all highly and mighty about it. It’s so disgusting. I hope her career keeps failing and she keeps losing and being irrelevant.”

 

Known for her powerful baseline game and relentless spirit, the 32-year-old has seen her performance dip dramatically. Halep returned to the tennis courts in March soon after the case was dismissed against her. However, she was ousted in the first round of the Miami Open against Paula Badosa. Besides, the former World No.1 is currently standing at 1127 in the world rankings.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Article continues below this ad

 

threw allthe scientific evidence out the window and said she said she didn’t dope so we believe her corrupt asf https://t.co/hROgL3WbFt

 

— . (@penkostephens) July 15, 2024

 

Expand Tweet

 

One more user added to the controversy and took media on its target. “This should be much more of a scandal than it really is. Crazy how tennis media covered the Halep case in general. Especially a certain Sports Illustrated writer…” Several news media outlets were accused of demonstrating bias towards Halep with them highlighting only her side of the story and ignoring the findings of the test.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Article continues below this ad

 

Similar sentiments were resonated by another X as well, who wrote in Spanish, “Imagina creer en un sistema tan “trasparente”.” This translates to “Imagine believing in a system so “transparent”” taking a subtle dig at the entire process.

 

While the reports are still awaited, it will be interesting to see if the two-time Grand Slam champion can once again return to the courts in the same form and demonstrate her prowess.

 

Share this with a friend:

 

Written By

 

Rupam Shukla

 

207

Articles

One Take at a Time

Rupam Shukla is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. Having pursued his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Rupam’s passion for sports is immense. A vigilant follower of Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic since a young age, Rupam brings a unique perspective to his writing.

Know more

Edited By

 

Deepanshi Bajaj

logo

EssentiallySports is a digital-first sports media house that surfaces the best stories on America’s favorite sports celebrities with a fan’s perspective to 30+ M average monthly readers.

 

Sports

 

All

 

Boxing

 

Formula One

 

Golf

 

NASCAR

 

NBA

 

NFL

 

ONE Championship

 

Tennis

 

UFC

 

WWE

 

Bodybuilding

 

WNBA

 

EssentiallySports

 

About Us

 

Advertise With Us

 

Authors

 

Editorial Team

 

Behind The Scenes

 

Humans of EssentiallySports

 

Contact Us

 

FAQs

 

Our Brands

 

FanCast

 

On The Ropes

 

Bodybuilding Bros

 

Club Golf

 

Lucky Dog on Track

 

Privacy Policy

 

ES Pressroom

 

Ethics Policy

 

Fact-Checking Policy

 

Correcti

ons Policy

 

Cookies Policy

 

GDPR Compliance

 

Terms Of Use

 

Editorial Guidelines

 

Ownership And Funding Information

 

Full Spectrum Services LLP © 2024 | All Rights Reserved