It’s been nearly two months since the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) issued a provisional four-year ban to Romania’s top-ranked tennis player, Simona Halep. The ruling, which was made in September, stipulated that Halep would be prohibited from playing tennis for a period of four years, beginning on October 6, 2022, and ending on October 6, 2024.
The issue galvanized the sports world, as Halep, considered one of the finest players of her era, became the first Romanian to win a Wimbledon championship in 2019, defeating the ‘Greatest-of-all-time’ Serena Williams on her way to victory.
And for a time, it was the town’s biggest story. Ultimately, though, as with all other issues, it dwindled and vanished into the past, eclipsed by more recent stories, accomplishments, and records.
However, with Patrick Mouratoglou’s latest revelation, the doping issue resurfaced once again, and this time, it pointed to a new culprit.
Patrick Mouratoglou: ‘I feel responsible.’
In Patrick Mouratoglou’s latest Instagram post, he posted a video of him stating that he’s confident about Halep’s appeal to the CAS.
“I feel confident for the future of Simona with her appeal to the CAS, because it’s an independent tribunal. We have been able to establish where the contamination comes from,” he said.
The French coach then continued by describing the specifics of how Halep came to consume the illegal substance Roxadustat.
“So we proposed her to take collagen and we brought her collagen from a company. This collagen happened to be contaminated, there was no way to know it, but I feel responsible for what happened because it’s my team, so me basically, who brought her this collagen,” he added.
Furthermore, Mouratoglou also stated that he is now cognizant of the possibility of contamination occurring and that, even if the level of contamination is very low and has no effect on the human body, it can still lead to a positive result in anti-doping tests.
Patrick Mouratoglou finally publically takes responsibility for what happened to Simona and says he is confident in her appeal with the CAS.@pmouratoglou: "I feel responsible for what happened because it's my team, so me basically, who brought her (Simona) this collagen." pic.twitter.com/83RGSHUiIt
— Romanian Tennis (@WTARomania) November 3, 2023
Mouratoglou concluded his remarks by emphasizing the dire consequences of an athlete being found guilty of a drug offense, even if they did not take the drug intentionally.
“This is terrible because you are completely innocent, your reputation is impacted, hurt by the fact that your name has to do with doping even though you didn’t do any doping. Your career is stopped for a period of time that can be extremely long. It can affect your whole career. It affects your reputation for a very unfair reason because you have done nothing,” he said.
Mouratoglou’s initial statement
This was not the first time that her coach has spoken out about the issue. On September 13, Mouratoglou also posted on his X account (formerly Twitter) in support of Halep’s plight over ITIA’s unfair punishment.
My statement on @Simona_Halep’s unfair situation : pic.twitter.com/czhsfcfBA2
— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) September 12, 2023
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