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Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, who made a comeback to the 2022 WTA season, tried her best to make a successful comeback with the addition of Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou. While the duo couldn’t achieve success in slams, they were managed to gain confidence as Halep performed well in few of the important tournaments.
Painful blow to Simona Halep as she tests positive for a banned substance
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However, Halep, who decided to cut short her 2022 season owing to nose surgery, had to let go of Mouratoglou. The French coach decided to join ATP star Holger Rune’s team as principal coach and it’s unclear if Halep and Mouratoglou get back together for the 2023 season.
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2022-03-11T234940Z_95895140_MT1USATODAY17875081_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-BNP-PARIBAS-OPEN-DAY-5.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 11, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Simona Halep (ROU) in action as she defeats Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) in her 2nd round match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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As the Romanian star is recuperating, on Friday, she announced yet another personal update and this news will definitely come off as rather shocking to the tennis world.
“I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity, which came as the biggest shock of my life. Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never crossed my mind once, as it is totally against the values I have been educated with,” Halep wrote in a lengthy message.
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) October 21, 2022
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While the implications of this update from Halep is still unclear, the Romanian vowed to fight till she is proved innocent. The former world no.1, who also announced separation with her husband, will be having difficult times ahead with a possible investigation coming up into this whole saga.
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency, Halep faces a provisional suspension and it is unknown when will the Romanian star be seen on a tennis court again.
BREAKING:
Former #1 Simona Halep provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for a positive test at this year's US Open.
Halep had previously announced she was ending her season. pic.twitter.com/BZND8VzyYf
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) October 21, 2022
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