Simona Halep laments lack of evidence as she serves four-year tennis ban

Careers at the top level of professional sport rarely come to an end gracefully, with players refusing to accept their limitations, however the case of Simona Halep is particularly upsetting.

A former world number one of the women's game, Halep is serving a four-year ban from the sport after being found guilty of doping violations.

The verdict was handed down on Tuesday, with the two-time Grand Slam winner being punished by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

Not only were their issues of doping, but irregularities were found in her Athlete Biological port (ABP).

Halep hasn't played tennis since October 2022

Simona Halep hasn't played professional tennis since her participation at the US Open in October 2022, although it was there where she was tested positive for Roxadustat, which by definition is an anti-anemia medication.

Anything related to modifying bloods is a red flag with regards to professional sport, such is the impact that a higher or lower count of blood cells can have on an athlete's performance, yet Halep maintains she has done nothing wrong, even citing a lack of evidence against her.

"I was confident after the hearing because there were so many things that made no sense and that are not fair," Halep told Front Office Sports.

"When I received the decision, I was in complete shock.

"I could not believe that they had suspended me for four years when we found the contamination and my blood was totally normal. They didn't find anything bad in my blood. It's crazy that they made this decision with everything, they judged me on scenarios. There is no proof. It's just insane."

Whilst Halep's statements were clearly emotive, her attorney accepts that a punishment was inevitable, but finds it difficult to rationalize the scale of it with the offense Halep allegedly committed.

"It's a violation, but we said the sanction should be very minimal," Howard Jacobs confirmed.