“Shocked” Simona Halep’s ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou accuses ITIA of “double standard” as Jannik Sinner escapes hardships after doping charges

Simona Halep's ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou censured the ITIA for treating her and Jannik Sinner's doping cases differently.

“Shocked” Simona Halep’s ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou accuses ITIA of “double standard” as Jannik Sinner escapes hardships after doping charges

Simona Halep, Patrick Mouratoglou, Jannik Sinner (Images via Tennishead, Eurosport, and X)

The tennis world is in chaos due to a report published on August 20 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). Jannik Sinner has been cleared of doping charges with the investigation process ending in about four months. Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Simona Halep, was one of many who felt ITIA’s treatment of these two players differed.

In a long LinkedIn post, Mouratoglou said he was “shocked” after ITIA’s verdict was published and accused the organization of double standards, referencing how they dealt with Halep’s case. Halep was banned for four years following tests where a banned substance, roxadustat, was found.

YouTube video

Halep challenged the ruling, applying to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which finally reduced her ban to nine months. Just like Sinner, the banned substance entered her body unknowingly. 

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The fact that needs highlighting is that there is a double standard - that two players in the same situation are treated oppositely - and this is wrong. The rules should apply to everyone. For one player, who tested positive at more than a minimal rate of the substance, the ITIA decided to put it all over the press and make it public. For another player, they kept it secret. Why? It makes absolutely no sense.
Patrick Mouratoglou wrote on LinkedIn

The 54-year-old coach then slammed ITIA for making Halep’s case public and keeping Sinner’s case secret, saying “it makes absolutely no sense.” Mouratoglou also thinks the way ITIA handled Sinner’s case was the “right one” but all players need to be treated equally. 

I think the way ITIA has handled Jannik’s case is the right one because, until he's proven guilty or innocent, I don't think it should be made public. Because after all, then the damage is done and it's so hard to recover from it. If Jannik did nothing, it shouldn't be made public.
Patrick Mouratoglou added

Sinner tested positive twice in March this year and during an investigation by an independent tribunal, he claimed that the banned steroid clostebol got into his body when his physiotherapist was massaging him. 

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Patrick Mouratoglou says ITIA’s different treatment hurt players 

Patrick Mouratoglou did not stop there as he criticized the ITIA for their “lack of transparency” which makes the players victims of their unfair treatment. He wants men’s and women’s players to be treated the same way, censuring the organization for making Simona Halep‘s case public from the beginning. 

Jannik Sinner (2)
Jannik Sinner (Image via X) 
The other shocking thing is that they wrote that Jannik appealed to a tribunal and his suspension was finally lifted due to that ‘tribunal’ finding in his favour. Well, it's NOT a tribunal. Technically, it's just a private company hired by the ITIA.
Patrick Mouratoglou wrote

Mouratoglou pointed out that the ‘real’ tribunal is the CAS, which did the ‘real’ investigation during Halep’s case. He recalled how Halep was provisionally suspended, was denied an appeal and when she finally went to the CAS, she was found not guilty. 

What they have called the tribunal here is just basically them and themselves, making the test, taking decisions on the player (suspension or not) and then concluding with the pieces they have within themselves. In the end, they basically suspended him and lifted the suspension within a few days of each other.
Patrick Mouratoglou added

Mouratoglou coached Halep when she tested positive for roxadustat. He, in an Instagram video he posted last year, said that he felt responsible after Halep claimed that the substance entered her body due to a contaminated collagen supplement given to her by Mouratoglou’s team.

The Romanian was first provisionally suspended and then denied an appeal for many months, for one reason or another. She finally got the CAS to exonerate her, but unlike Sinner’s case, it had all played out in the public’s eyes.

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