Simona Halep, former world No. 1, has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for a banned substance at this year’s US Open.
Halep, according to a Friday statement from the ITIA, provided a sample that contained Roxadustat. The substance is listed in the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list.
Halep addressed the suspension Friday with her own statement.
“Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for truth,” she wrote. “I have been notified that I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity.