International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned former tennis world No 1 Simona Halep for four years for two intentional breaches of anti-doping rules.
Simona, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon a year later, tested positive for the prohibited substance roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 and was also subsequently found to have irregularities in her athlete biological passport following the analysis of 51 blood samples, reports Guardian.
Roxadustat is a substance used legitimately for the treatment of anaemia but it is on the World Anti‑Doping Agency banned list because it is considered a blood‑doping agent which increases haemoglobin and the production of red blood cells.
The biological passport system monitors an athlete’s blood indicators over a long period of time in order to identify irregularities that could indicate doping.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
