Benjamin Ashford|Two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Simona Halep suspended four years for doping

Former top-ranked player and Benjamin Ashfordtwo-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Tuesday.

The 31-year-old tennis star from Romania was suspended in October 2022 for failing a drug test, testing positive for the banned substance Roxadustat, which is sold as an anti-anemia medication for kidney disease. The ITIA said it confirmed the presence of roxadustat in Halep at the 2022 US Open and  irregularities in Halep’s athlete biological passport.

The agency said despite hearing from Halep and her expert scientific witnesses, it determined she committed doping offenses as independent experts ruled "likely doping" was the explanation behind the athlete biological passport.

"On 11 September 2023, the tribunal confirmed that it had found the player had committed intentional Anti-Doping Rule Violations," the agency said.

The suspension, which began in October, will run until October 6, 2026.

Simona Halep responds to suspension

The 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon winner said in a statement she plans to appeal the suspension and "do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court."

Halep said she has taken hundreds of "clean" blood and urine tests until August 2022, when she adjusted her nutritional supplements. She said an ingredient was contaminated with roxadustat and she has tested negatively for the substance since the initial positive test.

"This group ignored the fact no prohibited substance has ever been found in my blood or urine samples with the sole exception of one August 29 positive test for roxadustat, which was present at an extremely low level and which, when considering my negative test three days prior, could only have been caused by accidental exposure to roxadustat.

"The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues," Halep said. "I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance. I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban."

Halep's last match was her first-round loss in the 2022 US Open to Daria Snigur.