“It’s a total mistake,” Mats Wilander gives his takes on Simona Halep’s doping suspension questioning how players can not know what they are taking

Mats Wilander talks about Simona Halep's doping charges.

“It’s a total mistake,” Mats Wilander gives his takes on Simona Halep’s doping suspension questioning how players can not know what they are taking

Mats Wilander and Simona Halep(Image via Eurosport)

Former Swedish tennis player Mats Wilander has opened up about Simona Halep’s situation with the doping suspension. While different people seem to have varied opinions when it comes to the matter, Wilander seems to be sided with the Romanian.

Simona Halep was sentenced to a four-year ban from the tour by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on account of doping violations. As the investigations ran for nearly a year, the Romanian was finally given a suspension from professional tennis. Halep was in disagreement with this verdict and had issued a statement pleading innocence. However, these requests fell on the deaf ears of the ITIA.

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While blame was thrown around regarding who was responsible for the positive test for roxadustat, Mats Wilander has spoken to Eurosport regarding the issue. “Honestly my heart goes out to Simona Halep. I don’t pretend to know her but having interviewed her on several occasions, I would say that out of all the players I have met, she is one who would never do something intentional, “ said the Swede. He also made the point that in this day and age it was possible to “inadvertently ingest” something. However, he also established that an athlete should not be in a position where she does not know what is acceptable to take.

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Mats Wilander revealed that “It’s a total mistake” to suspend the Romanian for four years. He also established that Halep was a great athlete and a wonderful human being. The Swedish former World No.1 seemed to believe that the ITIA should have taken accidental ingestion into consideration before passing the verdict.

Related: Novak Djokovic withdraws from the 2023 Shanghai Masters putting out an apology to his fans in China

Tennis fans accuse Simona Halep’s coach of being involved in her doping allegations

Fans of the sport have taken an accusatory tone towards Simona Halep’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The ITIA released a statement regarding the issue mentioning the French coach and recommending that the Romanian change her supplements.

Simona Halep and Patrick Mouratoglou
Simona Halep and Patrick Mouratoglou (Image via Tennis365)

This statement seemed to tell the fans that it was in fact Mouratoglou who had given Halep the roxadustat. People resorted to social media to voice out their vexation with her coach. Some users even said that the coach had manipulated Halep into changing her supplements and asked all players to cut ties with him.

However, regardless of outbursts from several parties, the ITIA seems to be strong in its decision. Following several pleas from the Romanian former World No.1, the ITIA is not willing to reduce her sentence.

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