“Four years is going to be a lot for my age,” Simona Halep who once established herself in the top echelons of tennis, is now fighting to return to the competitive sport. Ever since she tested positive for roxadustat, an anti-anemic drug, the Romanian tennis player has made several appeals to proclaim her innocence.

According to Halep’s recent disclosures, it was her coaching team’s negligence that has now landed her in the middle of a doping scandal. The 2-time singles Grand Slam champion recently opened up about how her 25-year-long competitive journey has been ‘destroyed’. In the process, Halep also brought to light her former coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s negligence, which is the reason behind all her adversities.

Simona Halep blames Patrick Mouratoglou’s ‘mistake’

In an exclusive interview with Paris Match, Simona Halep was asked if she blames Patrick Mouratoglou for introducing her to collagen. She started collaborating with him in April 2022 and four months later tested positive. But last November, the former coach released a video explaining how he was the originator of this substance proposal and that he took responsibility for the situation she is in today.

The 24-time WTA Tour singles champion answered, “I’m sure it wasn’t done intentionally and I’m grateful he admits the mistake was his and his team’s. Yes, they are the ones who gave me this food supplement. And for this error – their error – I am the only one to pay the high price: twenty-five years of career destroyed!”

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Simona Halep is no longer working with coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy. As she awaits a ruling on her appeal of a four-year doping suspension, she figured her tennis career would be over if the Court of Arbitration for Sport rules against her. The 32-year-old Romanian said, “It’s catastrophic if it’s going to be four years,” she said. “And I don’t know how I will handle it. Probably it’s going to be (the) end of (my) career, yes.”

In her candid response, the Romanian tennis player made it clear that she had no idea that the supplement, provided by her coaching team, was contaminated by that banned substance.

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While the former number 1 player has spoken candidly about her former coach’s mistake, Mouratoglou himself previously attested to Halep’s innocence.

Mouratoglou holds himself accountable for Halep’s doping saga

Earlier in November this year, The French coach took to Instagram to confess how he feels responsible for what happened with the 2-time singles Grand Slam champion. Mouratoglou revealed that it was his team that brought Halep this collagen. He said, “So, we proposed her to take collagen from a company.”

As it was contaminated by the banned substance, the Romanian player was later suspended after failing her drug test.  While asserting that he believed in the WTA player’s innocence, Mouratoglou said, “She’s a victim.”  The legendary tennis coach went on to say that he wants to see Halep back on the court “as soon as possible.”

A three-day hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport is scheduled for Feb 7-9 in her appeal against the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which ruled that Halep committed intentional anti-doping rule violations.

What do you think of the Romanian player exposing her former coach’s negligence that has now landed her in a doping scandal? Let us know in the comments section.

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