The doping case involving Simona Halep was brought back into the spotlight after Iga Świątek also tested positive.
A recent question raised was: why did it take so long for Simona Halep to receive a verdict? Our athlete was provisionally suspended in October 2022, and the ITIA verdict came in September 2023: a 4-year suspension. So, 11 months. In comparison, Jannik Sinner received the ITIA verdict after 4 months, and Iga Świątek after just one month.
The natural question that arises is: why did Simona Halep's case take so long? Did they want to destroy our athlete? Journalists from BBC spoke with experts in the field and explain the reasons why the wait was so long. According to British journalists, the biggest difference is that Simona Halep had a much more complex case and vehemently denied involvement in the doping case. While Sinner and Świątek admitted they made a mistake, Simona needed time to prove that the supplement she took was contaminated, the source notes.
"It is not uncommon for case resolutions to take months, especially when a player denies knowingly consuming a prohibited substance. In such cases, athletes can present evidence to refute or mitigate the positive test result. This leads to additional investigations and tests by the ITIA, prolonging the process.
In Simona Halep's case, she could not immediately provide evidence to explain why she tested positive. Her case was a complex one – the written explanations from the tribunal amounted to 126 pages. The panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) determined that Halep's doping violations were not intentional, but found that she had 'a certain degree of fault or negligence' for not exercising sufficient care regarding the supplements she took," BBC wrote.
On the other hand, Swiatek provided evidence much faster than Halep, BBC further writes: "The next day, just before the news of Swiatek's suspension was made public, her team wrote to the ITIA to report that they had identified a contaminated melatonin tablet."