Simona Halep is caught up in a storm as her appeal hearing nears. The Romanian found support from Chris Evert, who considers her innocent. However, fans disagreed with the American legend and refused to let the blame fall upon Patrick Mouratoglou.
Halep tested positive for Roxadustat, an anti-anaemia medication with performance-enhancing qualities, during the 2022 US Open. The International Tennis Integrity Agency ruled her violations were ‘intentional’ and slapped her with a four-year ban. She filed an appeal, scheduled for a hearing from February 7 to 9 (ESPN).
Halep’s former coach Mouratoglou, who has also worked with Serena Williams, claimed responsibility for her violation. In a video released in November, he said his team administered her collagen, which turned out to be tainted with Roxadustat. With this in mind, Evert took to X (formerly Twitter) to support Halep.
She said the two-time Grand Slam winner is innocent since her coaching team managed her nutrition and career. Hence, Evert implied Mouratoglou and his staff were primarily responsible for Halep’s positive drug test.
Fans objected to Evert calling Halep innocent and pushing all blame into Mouratoglou’s hands. An user pointed out how the former World No.1 had taken a dig at Maria Sharapova, saying athletes are solely responsible for what they consume. Similarly. fans held Halep responsible for her predicament.
One fan said the athlete should verify everything they consume and not blindly trust the coaches.
A few commented that Evert would not have had similar thoughts if it was Serena Williams instead of Halep.
“I don’t think she (Simona Halep) knew”- Chris Evert replies to fan
As Chris Evert stood behind Simona Halep and and endorsed her innocence, she met with a lot of online resistance. Many users, apart from the ones mentioned above, objected to the 18-time Grand Slam singles winner implying Halep made no mistakes. One user blasted the Romanian for not owning up to her faults. He wished Evert a speedy recovery from her cancer but told her she was wrong in declaring Halep innocent and blaming Mouratoglou.
Evert replied she has faith and trust in others. She clarified that she was just reiterating her point that Halep was not aware she was consuming banned substances. The three-time doubles Grand Slam champion concluded by saying people are responsible for what they intake into their bodies.
Speaking to the media, Halep recently disclosed that she ended her association with Mouratoglou and said they haven’t communicated for months. Her appeal hearing will be from February 7 to 9. If she loses, she will be eligible to return only in 2026. Halep said if her appeal is unsuccessful, it would likely end her career. She hoped to win the appeal and represent Romania at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
